You, me, always
by J1974
Summary: Sequel to I'm in (I strongly recommend you to read it). Severus and Hermione are the proud parents of a little girl, but what happens when a ghost from the past comes back. (rated M for a reason) I'm just playing in this huge sandpit J.K. Rowling has given us. Every character you recognize are hers...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, so here we are, this is the first chapter of the sequel of _I'm in_. If you read this story and haven't read, _I'm in_. I strongly advise you to read it first. Anyway, hope you like it.

J1974

Also: HAPPY 2019! May your year be filled with joy and friendship!

Chapter 1

Hermione climbed the stairs and went towards the nursery. As she made her way up, she began to hear his deep, rich and silk-like voice more and more clearly. Her husband's voice was so different when he spoke to his daughter. Any sign of coldness or hate went away, replaced with heat and love. She made the rest of the way towards the nursery and opened the door quietly.

Severus was sitting in one of the two rocking chairs next to his daughter's crib. Noxia was safely and sound asleep in the crook of his arms. He was rocking slowly back and forth whispering in his deep silk-like voice a lullaby to the sleeping infant. The sight she had before her eyes made her heart fill with love; so much, she thought it could burst at any given moment.

"Severus, darling, I just received a letter from the ministry. I think it's my N.E.W.T's results." Hermione whispered.

"She's finally asleep, I'll just put her down and we'll go downstairs and open that letter." Severus encouraged her, before standing from the rocking chair, his daughter still sleeping tightly in the crook of his arms.

"I don't know. I'm scared. What if I failed. What if I didn't get O in Charms. I will never become a Charms teacher." Hermione whispered, a tiny bit louder, her voice showing how panicked she was.

"Hey my love, hush now. You know perfectly well you did just fine with your N.E.W.T's. This is just routine for you. With the amount of time you spend studying. I would be extremely surprised if you got anything less than an O in every single one of your classes." Severus said, getting up from the rocking chair before putting his daughter down inside her crib.

They both exited the bedroom, placing a watching charm over their daughter's bedroom door, in order to know if their daughter woke up; before going down the stairs and into the living room.

"Alright, here we go." Hermione said, sitting onto the sofa and ripping the purple wax seal off and sat onto the couch.

 _Dear Mrs. Hermione Jean Snape,_

 _Please find enclosed a copy of your Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests final grades._

 _We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your efforts throughout the first half of your academic year and in completing your N.E.W. T's with clearance from Anti-Cheating Quills and Anti-Cheating Spells. We hope you have received the grades you require for your chosen wizarding profession._

 _We would like to take this opportunity to wish you good luck with your future wizarding career._

 _Griselda Marchbanks_

 _Governor_

 _Wizarding Examination Authority_

 _Education Division_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Hermione pulled a second piece of paper out of the envelope and opened it.

 _ **Candidate:**_ _Hermione Jean Snape_

 _ **Year of Exam:**_ _1998_

 _ **Examination Centre:**_ _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _ **Charms**_ _: O_

 _ **History of Magic**_ _: O_

 _ **Arithmancy**_ _: O_

 _ **Transfiguration**_ _: O_

 _ **Muggle studies**_ _: O_

 _ **Spell theory**_ _: O_

 _ **Herbology**_ _: O_

"So?" Severus asked impatiently, waiting for his wife to tell him the results she got.

"I think I did it Severus, I've got O's everywhere. Even in Herbology. I never thought I would have an O in Herbology after I confounded Mundane and Ordinary Tree Grassings."

"Herms, my love, I am so proud of you" Severus said as he took his wife into his arms and hugged her. He began to kiss her and the kiss quickly grew heated. He wanted to reward her thoroughly for everything. It had been more than three months since they last made love. The two last months of her pregnancy, Hermione was either too tired, or studying for her N.E.W.T's.

After a few seconds, she climbed onto his lap and took hold of his hair at the back of his head, trying to flush his skin closer to her own. He nestled his finger inside her messy auburn mane and massaged lightly her skull in time with his snogging, refusing to let go and intending to go through with what was about to come.

Unfortunately, she pulled back after ten good minutes of kissing. He let out a slight groan and she smiled before pecking his lips.

"We can't do this love, she's sleeping upstairs. She'll also need to be fed in thirty…" Hermione was cut short by Severus who began to suckle on her week spot on her neck.

"Please Severus, not today, we're both too tired." Hermione pleaded.

"All right, all right. Come here my perfect wife. Don't worry, nothing more than cuddling." He soothed her before taking her into his arms.

She settled into his embrace and he began to stroke her hairs tenderly. They stayed like that for a moment, and when he was about to let go of her, he saw that she was deeply asleep. It didn't surprise him, she hadn't had much sleep in the last few weeks, between her studies and the time it took her to breastfeed her daughter every two or three hours, she had only had a one or two hours of sleep straight. He took her more firmly in his arms and lifted her from the sofa. She nestled instinctively into him and put her arms around his neck and letting herself getting carried to the bedroom. When he reached their bedroom, he placed her onto the bed and pulled the covers above her body.

"Sleep well my wonderful witch." He told her placing a light kiss on her forehead. He made sure she was warm before climbing in bed with her and falling asleep himself.

Some time later, Severus was awoken by Hermione. It took a few seconds for him to reconnect to the reality and understand what she was saying.

"Someone took her. Severus. Someone took her" Hermione fear filled voice said.

Immediately, he understood that something was wrong. Something was wrong. He awoke fully and ran to his daughter's bedroom. The crib where he had placed his daughter was now empty. The small green and silver blanket she was wrapped in two hours ago was still in the bed, but Noxia wasn't. He searched through the room for his daughter, but he didn't find her. She was gone. He immediately rushed back into the bedroom and towards Hermione who was a complete mess.

"We're going to find her my love. I promise you we're going to find her." He said, kneeling next to her and hugging her as tight as possible.

"She's hungry. I can feel it. I have to feed her. She needs me. I need my baby." Hermione cried hugging Severus tighter. "Who could have done that, who could have done that to us?" Hermione asked herself between sobs.

"I don't know my love, I don't know. But I can promise you that I will kill them if they touched only one of her hair." Severus said defensively.

"What do we have to do now? I know that the sooner they can find her, the more chance we have to find her. Past seventy-two hours, there's practically no hope of finding her… alive and well. I can't lose her Severus. It'll kill me." Hermione said, crying harder as she thought about her daughter and what she must go through right now.

"We'll go to the Ministry right away. I'll Apparate us at the Ministry." Severus said, while taking his wand out from the pocket of his slacks.

"I can't go out in public like that, I'm not even dressed properly." Hermione said, her rational side taking a little over.

Severus quickly transfigured her clothes to something a little more appropriate and put her hair up in a messy bun. He then transfigured his own clothes to match his normal black teaching clothes only removing the matching billowing cloak. After helping Hermione up and placing a full set of wards onto the house, he Apparated the both of them at the ministry.

They rushed to a small reception desk inside the atrium. There, a mid-aged, red-haired woman stood with a stuck-on smile.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, how may I… Mr. and Mrs. Snape, it's an honor to have you here. Please, how may I help you?" The witch asked first in a bored fashion, then as she had recognized them, she had bowing her head at the both of them and immediately spoke with more respect.

"Hello, our daughter Noxia, Allana-Rose Snape was kidnapped. Less than 3 hours ago." Severus said to the witch, his voice usually so stern, now showing all his distress.

"Oh, um yeah, wait for a second." She said before scurrying off and passing through a service door.

The minutes passed and the both of them stayed there, rooted to the spot, not exactly knowing what to do. Hermione breasts now hurt so much she thought glass shards were piercing them. Finally, the witch came back accompanied to a grave looking man in bright purple clothing.

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape, if you will follow me. I'll set you up in a private salon. I am sure you don't want to be dealing with unwanted publicity right now. Nowadays they are practically everywhere…" He said. When he didn't get any reply from any of them, apart from Severus who rolled his eyes slightly, bothered at the man. He pointed his wand towards a door and opened it.

He made sign for them to enter the room and closed the door behind himself before once more addressing to the couple.

"I am very sorry to hear about what happened, the minister should be here shortly. Can I get anything for you? Coffee, tea, something a little stronger…?" The man asked in an unconcerned tone that angered Severus immediately.

"No thank you. If you could please leave us now" Severus said as he took Hermione in his arms and hugged her tightly before bringing her to a couch in the corner of the room

The man left and Hermione sobbed loudly in her husband's arms.

"It hurts Severus, it hurts so much" She said bringing her hands to her breast as she felt once again as though glass shards were shot at them.

"What hurts love?" he began before seeing her "Herms, love… I don't know what I can do. I think it's best if we call Poppy. I'll Patronus her." He said before seeing her nod and conjuring a Patronus. He explained the situation briefly, not knowing exactly what to say, and a tiny bit embarrassed he had to tell things like this to Poppy.

A few minutes later, they saw Poppy at the reception desk through the window of the office. Poppy came in and immediately pulled the curtains and warded the room.

"Hermione, Severus. I am so sorry about what happened. Tell me what can I do?" Poppy asked, her voice betraying her sadness.

"I don't know, but my breasts are hurting so much. Normally, it's only a light discomfort, but now, it's burning. I feel like I have cacti getting thrown at them." Hermione explained to Poppy.

"Oh, Hermione. I'm sorry, it's a characteristic symptom that your baby is hungry. You see, your body is in sync with hers, so if she's hungry, your breasts are going to produce milk and they tend to hurt as they fill up more and more. I'm afraid that the only way to stop the pain is to pump the milk." Poppy explained.

Hermione curled furthermore into Severus' chest. She felt as though she had completely failed to protect her child and do her role as a mother. She was so angry at herself that she cried. The pain in her breasts enhancing her emotional pain.

"Love, I think we should do what Poppy is proposing us" Severus told her, as he saw the pain she was in.

Slowly, she nodded and saw Poppy pointing her wand at her breasts. The Mediwitch whispered _inanis_ in between her lips, and Hermione immediately felt the difference. Her tears doubled as she felt her breast emptied, knowing she had had to do it magically because she had failed to protect her own child.

He too felt bad. On his wedding day, he had promised Hermione not to let anything bad happen to her or to their children and today, Noxia had been kidnapped. He felt so bad about it. He felt as though he had failed his role as a husband and as a father and it was consuming him.

Finally, Tiberius Ogden, 36th Ministry for Magic, came in. He was wearing a purple bowler hat and his outdoor cloak showed he had rushed to the ministry without previous warning.

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape, I am terribly sorry for your daughter's disappearance. I have put every available Auror on her trail and I can promise you, they are doing what is in their power to have you reunite with her sooner rather than later." The man said, bowing his head to the both of them.

"Do you have any news? Anything at all." Pleaded Hermione.

"No, unfortunately, we don't have anything right now. I was hoping you could give us more information about how the afternoon went. It might help us to understand what happened exactly and find your daughter quicker." Tiberius said, sitting in a large chair opposite them.

"Well, I received my N.E.W.T's results after lunch, it was about 10 a.m.. I went upstairs, in our daughter's room to find my husband. He had just managed to put her asleep, Merlin knows how rare those moments are, so he placed her in her crib and placed the warning charm on the door. Then, we went downstairs, I read my results and fell asleep in his arms. He brought me to our bedrooms and we slept. We're so tired as of lately, we needed to rest. When we woke up, she was… she was…" She explained before breaking into tears.

"She was gone…" Severus finished for her before taking her in his arms further and comforting her.

"It's my fault, everything is my fault." Hermione sobbed. "I should have known my baby was in danger."

"It's not your fault Mrs. Snape" Mr. Ogden told her. "You did what every parent would have done. You are allowed to rest from time to time. You're only human after all, don't put the blame on yourself. The only person that should be blamed is the one who has kidnapped her." Mr. Ogden said.

"Herms, do you want me to inform your friends about the situation?" Severus said after a few moments.

"Yes, please. I don't have the strength to do it. I just feel so drained." Hermione said pulling slightly away from him.

Right at that moment, a small black dressed man entered the room.

"Minister, we found her, we found Miss Snape." He said before seeing that Severus and Hermione were there.

"Where is she? Tell me where my daughter is." Severus said immediately alert.

"She is in the hospital wing…" The man responded. But before he had the time to finish, Severus, Hermione, followed shortly after by Mr. Ogden, were already running towards the hospital wing of the Ministry.

They entered the room where there was a small bed surrounded by at least a dozen person. Hermione sobbed at the sight and it took Severus all his will power not to do the same. Seeing this tiny bed where his daughter was surrounded by so many people wasn't a good sign at all.

When the doctor responsible of their daughter saw them, he went towards them to fill them in on the situation.

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape, my name is Healer Montgomery. I am in charge of your daughter's case. She is not seriously injured, just a few cuts and bruises and we're currently assessing further along her condition, but I don't think she will have any scar. We'll be finished in a few minutes. She has an I.V. because she is a little dehydrated, but we should take it from her in a few hours. Oh, seems like the tests are done, you can go and see her." He told them before Hermione sprinted towards the bed.

"Hey Noxia, my love, momma's here, dada's here. Everything is going to be alright." Hermione said placing a small curl of her daughter's hair behind her ear.

"Who found her? Where?" Severus asked to the healer as low as possible so Hermione wouldn't know w.

"Lucius Malfoy. Everyone was alerted of your daughter's kidnapping and he was about to leave his Manor when he saw his son. He is the one who kidnapped your daughter. He battled to get her back from his son, that's how she got the cuts and bruises. As soon as he had her, he came here to have her healed." The healer explained to Severus.

"Thank you, Healer Montgomery, I'll rejoin my wife and child." Severus said before going to his daughter's bed.

"Hey, my little angel, you gave us quite a scare, your momma and I. We're glad you're alright. I promise you we'll always be there for you my love. Always" Severus said, his daughter who was budging slightly before was now completely still as her father talked to her. Hermione and Severus stayed for a few hours with their daughter before Healer Montgomery came in the room

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape, we're going to take your daughter's I.V. out. Then you'll be able to hold her." He informed the couple.

Hermione stood up from the small chair that was installed next to her daughter's bed and waited for the doctor to finish taking the I.V. out of her arm before transfiguring the chair to a comfortable armchair in which she would be able to feed her child.

"I have bad news unfortunately." Healer Montgomery told the two parents "Your child has a serious lack of magic. Her magic should shield her from small intrusive charms, and unfortunately it doesn't. I think it is due to an overdose of stress induced hormones during the pregnancy. There are many ways with which I could heal her, could you tell me how the whole pregnancy went?" The Healer said conjuring another armchair for Severus and a small chair and desk for him.

"Well, we think I became pregnant around March or April, but I only realized it on the first of May. The day of Hogwarts Battle. During the time I didn't know I was pregnant, I used Polyjuice Potion and fled Gringotts Bank. I gave birth on the 21st November at our holiday home. Nothing went wrong." Hermione explained looking the whole time at her daughter, who was sleeping inside the small medical cot.

"So, she turned one month old two days ago." The healer said as he looked at his watch to know what date it was.

"Yes, we were supposed to go celebrate Christmas Eve tomorrow with some friends, but I don't think we'll be able; seeing her current condition." Severus then informed the Healer.

"No, don't worry, she can travel, but only by Floo and/or the Knight Bus. No Apparition as her powers are far too low. But if you can do everything by Floo. I see no problem in you going to your friends" Healer Montgomery said.

"Alright, Floo it is then. I just have a tiny question. Can she come back home with us tonight?" Hermione asked, a bit panicked as she didn't like hospitals and had always thought the farthest away, she was from one, the best it was.

"I'll just have to run a full diagnosis, and if everything is alright, I see no reasons why little Noxia couldn't go back home. However, I don't want to give you false hopes. You will both have to be with her as long as possible, so she can build up her magical resources. You will be tired, so I am going to give the both of you some vitamins and will make an appointment for next week, to see if she builds those reserves back up." The Healer told them.

"Alright" Hermione half-said. She was still holding her sleeping daughter, stroking the few black curls on the top of her head, but Severus felt her distress. He knew how much she despised hospitals and he clearly felt as though she thought she was responsible for the situation.

"Excuse me Healer, but would it be possible for you to come over and do the check up at our home? My wife isn't particularly keen on hospitals and I think Noxia would be more relaxed if she was in a familiar setting." Severus asked the healer.

"I don't see why not. Let's say January third? Is it alright for you?" The Healer asked waving his wand and making a large agenda appear in front of him.

"It will be at Hogwarts, you see my husband returns to his teaching position." Hermione informed him, hoping that her daughter will be discharged as early as possible.

"No problem, let's check on that little angel, shall we. Your daughter did face serious injuries, that we healed, but as her magic levels are very low, she might take a longer time to heal…" The Healer explained to the parents as he took his stethoscope out of his pocket.

Hermione held onto her daughter's hand a tiny bit tighter than previously. She let nevertheless the Healer examine her daughter and was reassured when she heard the Healer telling her that her daughter was completely fine and that her magic supplies were already building back up.

"She's free to go Mr. and Mrs. Snape. I just need you to sign these forms. Maybe you would want to call someone to bring you some clothes and a baby carrier for your daughter?" Montgomery told them.

"Thank you so much Healer Montgomery. See you in January then" Hermione said nodding her head in acknowledgement to the doctor.

"Thank you, Healer." Severus said shaking his hand before he exited the room.

"I'm so sorry my loves. I'm so sorry you both had to go through all that. I promise you it will never happen ever again loves." Severus said on the brink of tears.

Malfoy had once again hurt his wife. Sure, the first time she wasn't his, but he still had hurt her and the pain she had had to endure had touched him. At the time, he had promised himself that he would not let anything happen to her ever again. At the time, he couldn't do anything because of the Unbreakable Vow. Now that Narcissa was dead, he could do whatever he wanted to avenge himself. The little bastard was going to pay and he would not understand what had hit him. Severus would make sure he would be broken and miserable when all that was finished.

Hermione knew her husband better than anyone and she could tell by the look of fury he harbored that he wasn't happy, in fact he was fulminating.

"Hey love, what is it. Tell me." Hermione said stroking Severus' arm lightly to appease his furor.

"It's nothing love…" He began to say before looking at his wife and seeing that there was absolutely no point for him to lie. "I know who kidnapped Noxia. I know who tried to harm our family."

"Why don't you tell me?" Hermione asked puzzled.

"I don't want you to be mad love, you won't like it. At all." Severus began pleading with his wife.

"I am going to be mad if you hide things from me Sev, and either way I won't like the person who tried to harm my child. Tell me now Severus" Hermione said, her voice showing the built up anger she had in herself.

"It's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. I swear to Merlin that he will pay. I don't want any of you to go through what you did once more. I want to know you're safe. I should have done this the first time he hurt you." Severus said tearing up.

"Sev, it's not your fault. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I know your hands were tied but now that Narcissa is dead, you're released of your vow, we will make him confront his actions. We'll stop us from harming our family furthermore. He'll pay for what he did to me and our daughter. I promise you. Furthermore, if you had acted before Narcissa's death, you would have died. You would have died and I would have been alone with Noxia. I wouldn't have been able to manage anything without you." Hermione said to Severus before hugging him tightly, feeling him relax as the smell of her hair filled his nose.

"Do you mind if I call Harry to bring us the necessary for Noxia, or you'd rather call someone else?" Hermione asked, knowing Severus didn't particularly like Harry.

Harry had met Noxia when she had come to Hogwarts for her examination, and had immediately clicked on with her. Severus had agreed for Harry and Ginny to be godparents and it had filled Hermione's heart with joy.

"No, go ahead love." Severus said.

Hermione took her wand out of her pocket and quickly conjured up her small otter.

"Harry, it's Hermione. I'm sorry to bother you at such ungodly hours of the night, but could you go to our home and take a travel cot and some warm clothes for Noxia to wear then come to the Ministry. I'll explain you later, but if you could hurry, I would be so grateful." Hermione said to the Patronus before sending it away.

Thirty minutes later, Harry was there. He had the cot and a full bag with baby stuff. Severus who had been caressing his daughter's tiny hand in his own immediately straightened up and took the same expression he took in front of his students.

"Professor, Hermione. Is everything all right?" Harry asked concerned.

"Everything is all right now Harry. Noxia was kidnapped, by Draco Malfoy. She is fine and all clear to go, but we didn't have anything to cover her with, neither to transport her in, so we called you." Hermione said reassuringly to Harry.

"I swear to god he will pay. Wait until I see him again." Harry said, gritting his teeth in anger.

"You will do no such thing Harry. I don't want to have to bring Noxia to Azkaban to visit you. You'll let justice go its way." Hermione said, her voice leaving no doubt to Harry at how serious she was.

"Alright Hermione, alright. If he doesn't come and hurt any of you I wont do anything, but if he comes close to Noxia ever again, I can swear to Merlin he'll pay." Harry said, seeing red at the thought of Malfoy wanting to hurt Noxia.

He handed the bag and the cot to Severus who thanked him before heading back towards the bed and began preparing Noxia to leave. Hermione looked at him the whole time, relieved to see that her daughter was fine and uninjured.

"Harry, I don't know if we'll be able to come tomorrow for Christmas Eve. Noxia needs to rest and travelling might not be the best option at the moment…" Hermione explained to Harry, sounding apologetically.

She knew how impatient Molly and Arthur were of seeing Noxia. When she had to wipe her parents' memories, they immediately took her under their wing and helped her for the first few months. For her, they were like her parents now. She felt bad about the fact of having to call them and cancel their coming.

"Maybe we could spend Christmas at your place? If it's alright with the three of you, of course. Everyone could bring food and you would be able to focus on Noxia and not be worried of travelling while she's recovering." Harry proposed to the both of them.

"We wouldn't want to disturb, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have already done so much for us …" Hermione said a little embarrassed that they had to move their schedules around for them.

"Nonsense 'Mione. You know Mrs. Weasley will be beyond happy to see Noxia, and we'll finally see your place. Plus, if Noxia is tired she'll be able to sleep in a familiar place and be less disturbed than being in an unfamiliar setting."

"Love. What do you think about it?" Hermione asked, turning to Severus who was dressing Noxia up to leave.

"I think it would be better, as Harry pointed out, Noxia will be in a familiar setting and less stressed than usual.

"I'll ask the Weasley if they are alright with it. I don't know who they had planned to invite too, but I would be happy to have everyone home. There's a tiny bit of decorating to do however." Hermione said happily to Harry.

"Don't worry Hermione, we'll come and help you with that if you want. You just have to let us know when we could come and we'll help you set everything up." Harry proposed once more to Hermione.

"Love, Noxia's ready to go, I just have to get her in the cot and we can leave and go back home." Severus said when they had finished their conversation.

"Perfect, Harry, I am so sorry to ask you for that, but could you ask the Weasley's if they're alright in coming to the Clearing?" Hermione asked to Harry as he was heading for the exit.

"The Clearing?" Harry asked to Hermione.

"Yeah, it's the name we have chosen for our holyday house in the clearing. It is connected via the Floo network." Hermione informed Harry.

"Ok I'll ask. I'll send you Dobby with the answer." Harry said.

"Dobby, who's Dobby?" Hermione asked.

"My owl. I named him after Dobby. He saved our lives back in Malfoy Manor. So I wanted for him to live on through my owl." Harry said, his voice suddenly full of sadness as he remembered the house elf who had saved his life nearly a year ago.

Harry bid farewell to Hermione and Severus and kissed his goddaughter on the forehead tenderly before exiting the small hospital room.

Hermione went back towards Severus who was holding the cot were Noxia was deeply asleep. She kissed him tenderly and flicked her wand so that all the furniture was transfigured back to their original state.

Severus placed a glamour on his wife and himself before conjuring a blanket to cover Noxia's cot with so that she would not be seen. They headed out to the first Floo connected chimney and finally came back home with a sound asleep Noxia.

They didn't notice the pair of grey and sliver eyes which had been watching them the entire time they had spent at the Ministry.

AN: So this chapter is a bit longer than what I am used to write. Tell me if you liked it. See you next week.

J1974


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys… don't worry, I didn't just disappear like that. I am a little busy with my studies at the moment as I have got big exams coming up, but all shall be better in three weeks' time. Tomorrow is Alan's death anniversary and I have been difficultly coping with it. It's always a difficult day for me as he was someone who gave me the courage to go on with my life when I felt down… So this chapter is dedicated in his memory.

Hope you'll like it.

J1974

Chapter 2

Hermione took Noxia out of the travelling cot and brought her to the living room. She knew Noxia was hungry and after having cuddled with the infant for a short while, she unbuttoned her shirt and gave her breast for Noxia to latch on. As soon as she saw Noxia relax, she felt a sense of calmness wash over her body. Noxia was now safe and no one would harm her ever again.

"Hermione… Where are you?" Severus asked from upstairs.

"I'm in the living room with Noxia." She replied softly as she saw her daughter dozing to sleep.

"I raised new wards onto her bedroom. I was also thinking we could call Wilky to come and watch over her while she sleeps if you want?" Severus told her as he sat down into the sofa opposite her.

"About that… I was thinking that maybe Noxia could come and sleep for a little while in our bedroom. It'll help with her magic levels and I'd be more reassured. You know I trust Wilky. I really do, but the second Noxia's out of my sight, I feel like I am suffocating. I know it seems childish…" Hermione said, looking at Noxia who was finishing eating.

"Herms, I don't mind at all if she sleeps with us until we go back to Hogwarts. Why don't you finish up with Noxia while I bring her cot to our bedroom? Then you can bring her up and we'll all get a good night sleep. Alright?" He asked her softly seeing his daughter was now fast asleep.

"Thank you love. I'll just try not waking her up." Hermione said looking at her child with star filled eyes.

Severus stood up and went for the second time this night in the nursery. He levitated the cot they had bought in Hogsmeade and placed it next to their armchairs in the corner of the bedroom. There, Hermione would be able to feed Noxia comfortably without having to get out of the warm confines of the bedroom.

He placed a small number of large logs and lighted the fire to warm the room up. He knew that Hermione hated when a room wasn't warm in the winter as she loved walking bare feet inside the house. Furthermore, he didn't want her to get cold and become sick. After making sure everything was in place, he went back downstairs and saw Hermione was now carrying Noxia to their bedroom.

"Herms, I've finished setting her crib up. Just go and put her to sleep. She looks absolutely exhausted. I'll be right up." Severus said before placing a light kiss on top of her forehead.

He saw Hermione disappear into the bedroom and he made his way to the kitchen. He flicked his wand and a few seconds later, pots and ingredients were flying out of the cupboards and preparing themselves into a nice meal for the both of them.

Thirty minutes later, he went back upstairs with a tray with two plates of spaghettis. He knew that she loved a good plate of spaghettis from time to time and she hadn't eaten them since a very long time. When he entered the room, he saw that Hermione was patiently waiting for him a large Charms volume was opened and she was reading it with great focus.

"Hermione. I made you a plate of spaghettis. I hope you'll like it" He whispered to her, not wanting to wake Noxia up.

"Oh love, you didn't have to. I love you. I really completely, utterly love you" Hermione said. Severus could see the happiness on Hermione's face and he smiled along with her, happy he had been able to make his wife smile today.

"I love you too my sweet Hermione Jean Snape. I love you too… Now eat up, it's getting colder by the second." Severus whispered in her ear.

"You didn't use my spell. Severus. I am disappointed…" Hermione said with a small pout.

"I didn't use it only because I knew you would eat that plate quickly. I know how much you like spaghetti's" Severus said placing both his hands onto the armrests of her chair.

"Severus Snape you are very intelligent." Hermione remarked, approaching her face from his.

"You aren't too much of a dunderhead either love." Severus said, his voice getting more and more suave by the instant.

"Sev…" She began, but her voice died down when Severus placed his lips on hers. "Please Severus. I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow. I'm just so freaking tired and Noxia's just next to us. I don't want to disturb her sleep. Please." Hermione begged before giving him another kiss.

"Tomorrow witch. Tomorrow. You're mine and mine only." Severus whispered seductively into her ear before pecking her lips.

"Tomorrow my handsome husband. Come now. Let me try that dish of spaghetti" Hermione said looking at the tray still hovering behind him.

He took one of the two plates lying onto the tray and gave it to Hermione. She waited for him to be settled into the armchair opposite her before taking her fork and twisting a small amount of pasta around it. The moment she put it in her mouth, she hummed in delight. It was simply the best spaghetti dish she had ever had in her eighteen years of life.

"Wow Severus. This was delicious. You might get a reward quicker than expected." Hermione told him as she watched him finish his plate.

When they both finished their plates, Severus tapped their plates with his wand and they went on their own accord downstairs. He saw that Hermione was half asleep inside the armchair and decided that she needed a bath. He went to the bathroom and opened the taps at the right temperature before dropping some salts in the hot water.

When he came back into the bedroom, Hermione was fully asleep. He disrobed himself and then woke Hermione up.

"Hang on to me love." Severus whispered not wanting to be too brusque with her.

Hermione let her arms wrap themselves around his neck and he lifted her as though she weighed nothing more than a leaf. He helped her take her clothes off before getting her into the bed. He went behind her in the bath and massaged her shoulders lightly. Bringing some water onto her to soothe the accumulated tension.

"Thank you so much love. You're a great help. Really" Hermione whispered. Her eyelids getting heavier and heavier as his massages travelled down south.

"My pleasure darling. Just relax for now." Severus murmured into the crook of her neck. Making his point by punctuating his words with a few kisses.

Thirty minutes later, they got out of the water and went to Noxia's crib she was a little agitated in her sleep, so Hermione took her in her arms. Severus brought his two girls into their bed and after having made sure Hermione had settled nicely with Noxia in their bed. He went to his side of the bed and cradled the both of them in his arms.

The little family woke up on the stroke of 7 a.m. They had all slept very well and Severus found it quite good not for Hermione not to have to get out of bed to feed their daughter. When Noxia was finally changed and fed. They got out of bed and headed downstairs.

Hermione placed Noxia in a small bed in the living room where they could watch her from the kitchen. They then began preparing breakfast. Severus doing the major part of the cooking while Hermione was watching him mixing the ingredients into a bowl expertly.

Suddenly, a large owl landed onto the window seal. It was a large white owl, with two black bordered eyes. Hermione opened the window and the owl soar through the room before landing onto Tweedle's perch in the foyer. She went after the owl and took the letter it was holding into its beak.

"Thanks. You must be Dobby. Don't worry, you can stay here for a short while. Tweedle has gone chasing. He won't be back before quite some time." Hermione informed the bird, petting it's head lightly.

She opened the piece of parchment, and the spiky uneven writing of her friend confirmed her predictions.

 _Dear Hermione and Professor Snape,_

 _I do hope all is well now and Noxia is already getting better. I am writing to you in the matter of Christmas' Eve dinner. I talked with the Weasleys and they would be delighted to come to the Clearing. I didn't tell them what happened yesterday. I thought it had to be your news to share, or not._

 _See you tonight,_

 _Harry._

 _P.S: Molly gave me the list of all the people who were invited to attend Christmas at the Burrow. I know you're not in the best of terms with Ron. But maybe you could give it a shot, I think once he sees Noxia he'll change._

 _Christmas 1998_

 _Molly  
_ _Arthur  
_ _Ron  
_ _Rose  
_ _Severus  
_ _Hermione  
_ _Noxia  
Ginny  
_ _Harry  
_ _Teddy (Tonk's and Remus son, Harry's godson)  
_ _Fleur  
_ _Bill  
_ _Lucas (Bill's and Fleur's son)  
_ _George  
_ _Angelina  
_ _Charlie  
_ _Percy_

Hermione looked at the list. She had already seen those types of list Mrs. Weasley did for every Christmas since she had married Mr. Weasley. Some of them had been framed and put up on top of the chimney or in the stairs leading up the different levels of their quirky house. The fact that Fred's name was missing from the list made her eyes fill up with tears. The Weasleys had foregone the worst possible tragedy for a family, and that made her realise how lucky she had been to still have Severus and Noxia by her side.

She returned to the kitchen and gave the letter and list to Severus who was just finishing placing the food into the plates on the kitchen's counter. She looked at him while he read throughout the list and gave it back to Hermione with a bit of a concern look on his face.

"Hermione. You're sure you're alright with Ron being here?" Severus asked as though he knew exactly what bothered her.

"Yeah. The Weasleys are already doing us the favour of coming over. I don't want them to be separated for Christmas, especially with… you know… _Fred_ not being here… and Tonks and Remus" Hermione began on the brinks of tears.

"Oh Hermione. Come here. I'm so sorry." Severus said, as he stroked her hair comfortingly while she sobbed onto his chest. "Let it out love. Let it all out. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise you, everything is going to be alright." Severus finished calming her down and they both began to eat their breakfast.

Once they had finished their breakfast, Hermione took Noxia upstairs to clean her up. She loved those moments spent with her daughter. She would install Noxia into her bath seat and play with her while washing her. Severus wrote a reply to Harry and sent it via Dobby.

He was worried for tonight and knew that it could go either way. Ron could be a total dunderhead or act as a civilized person and finally be grateful for all Hermione had done for him. Even if the chances were extremely slim, he wanted it to work. He went to his office and got his stationery equipment.

 _To the discretion of Mr. Ronald Weasley,_

 _Mr. Weasley, I was writing to you to ask a favour from you. I know you do not like me, and I think even despise me, but this letter is not about me, it is about Hermione. Tonight we will be having Christmas Eve's dinner together at The Clearing (our holiday house). I would be forever thankful if you acted as a civilized person and didn't make it hard onto Hermione by making a scene. She is still deeply hurt by your actions at our wedding, more about the shame you inflicted upon your family. I do hope I have made myself completely clear because I will not have you hurt my wife nor my child in any ways. Because if you do, I promise you that you_ _ **will**_ _regret it._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Severus Tobias Snape_

 _Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys, here is another chapter. It's been kind of hard for me to write lately. Mainly because of what's happening in my country at the moment and my studies. Hope you understand.

Have a nice time reading!

J1974

Chapter 3

Hermione had begun setting up the dinner table for tonight. Severus had asked the house elves to come and help Hermione by bringing in the China from the Prince Manor. The elves had also helped Hermione in preparing a meal, a few hours later, everything had been set up and lovely smells of Christmas biscuits and meat were coming out of the kitchen appliances. Hermione looked around. Something was missing, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

"Herms, you look worried. Is everything alright?" Severus asked hugging her from behind.

"Yeah, everything is fine, but there's something missing. Unfortunately, I cannot tell what." She said to him still looking around her and scrutinizing every single detail of the room. "A CHRISTMAS TREE!" She exclaimed spinning around in his embrace to face him.

"What about it?" Severus nudged his shoulders.

"We don't have a Christmas tree. Oh, darling we can't celebrate Christmas without one. Please, please, please, can we go and get one…" She begged hopping up and down.

"Of course, love." He chuckled at her childish display "What about you go and get Noxia into her warmest clothes while I get the crib and we can all go together collect it in the forest. It'll be her first real outing and we can choose the perfect tree. What do you think love?" Severus asked tenderly cupping his wife's cheek in his large palm to calm her down, before kissing her.

"Oh, Severus. I would love that, I'll go and get Noxia and myself ready." She replied before giving him a light kiss on the lips.

He chuckled lightly as he let go of her face and went into the foyer where a stroller was folded. After ten minutes of struggle with the opening mechanism of the stroller and at least a good dozen of swears, he finally managed to unfold it. He took Noxia's favorite blanket and placed it onto the mattress to soften it a little. Hermione was in the meantime struggling to put Noxia in her coat. When she finally managed that, her daughter began to cry.

"Noxia, shh… darling, what's the matter?" Hermione asked as she bounced the baby inside her arms to try and calm her.

Suddenly, her pacifier flew from the crib to her mouth. Hermione stood there in utter shock. Her daughter had just accioed her pacifier from the crib and into her mouth, and the healer had told them only yesterday that she was lacking magic.

"Severus…" She called for him.

As soon as he heard the worried voice of his wife, he bolted upstairs, afraid of what he was going to come to. In the middle of the room, next to the changing station stood a surprised Hermione who was holding a nearly asleep Noxia.

"What is it love?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Noxia. She summoned her pacifier from the crib. I mean, yesterday we were told our child was suffering from magic loss, and today she performs magic. She's only 2 months old Severus. I only started doing magic at 2 _years_ old and even then, it was considered quite young." Hermione told Severus, clearly distraught by the situation.

He took Noxia in his arms before looking at Hermione dead in the eyes.

"Herms, don't worry, we'll cope. She is going to be a very powerful witch, that I do not doubt it. I showed my first signs of magic early too; my mother gave birth two months before expected. I had to be taken in at St Mungo's to be cared for and three months later when she took me back home, my father hit her. At that moment, my mother later told me that I had raised a shield around us to protect her. I was only three months old and I did some extremely advanced magic." Severus told her, looking at her and their daughter.

"Wow Sev. Well it actually is a good sign then, it shows to us that her magical reserves are getting stronger." Hermione said, a bright smile on her face.

"Come now, let's go and find that Christmas tree." Severus said, opening the door of their bedroom.

They both got downstairs and Severus placed Noxia into the stroller. She watched as Severus secured her into it and finished off by placing her cover onto her. She had squirmed a little into the crib but after a few minutes had completely settled inside it.

Severus then handed Hermione her coat and took his own to shield himself of the winter coldness. He opened the door with a flick of the wand while Hermione pushed the stroller out into the clearing. He then made sure the house was warded against intruders before beginning to walk into the forest, looking for a decent tree.

They walked for a little hour, making small talks and laughing as they walked into the snow accumulated onto the forest ground. The stroller wheels had been stuck in the thick snow quite a few times, and after the third times, Severus made so that the stroller levitated a few inches above the ground.

Suddenly, they came across a small clearing, in the middle of it was a large pine tree. Hermione stopped Severus in his track and looked at the tree.

"Look Severus, it's the perfect one. What do you think?" She asked as she went around the tree inspecting it thoroughly.

"I agree, let's take it home, it's getting dark and our guests will be there in a few hours anyways. We still have to decorate it, but that won't take forever." Severus said as he took his wand out of his pocket.

"Wait, we can't just cut it down like that, we have to plant a sapling in its place, so that another tree will replace it." Hermione intervened before it was too late.

"You're right love." Severus agreed before raising his wand above the tree " _Per Merlinum, creare ex hoc nunc recubas arbore_ " he chanted before touching the tree with the tip of his wand.

A large pot appeared at the foot of the tree where a small sapling was planted. With another wave of his wand, the tree was cut down and the leftover trunk disappeared. He then laid the tree onto the snowy ground and planted the sapling before watering it.

A few seconds later, the sapling had already grown a little, showing that there would soon enough be a new tree in its place. They then walked back home with the tree levitating a little behind them. As soon as they had got back into the house, they took their coats off and got Noxia out of the crib. She had been crying for the last ten minutes and Hermione blamed herself to not have taken a bottle of milk with her.

"Come here Noxia, momma's going to feed you." She told sweetly to her daughter as she made her way to the couch and arranged a few pillows around her.

While Hermione fed their daughter, Severus took the tree inside the house and set it up next to the chimney. He made sure it was secured into the conjured-up stand before beginning to put the decorations on it. He decided to go for a green, red and gold color theme with some floating candles around it.

Noxia was resting on Hermione's shoulder once she had finished eating and looked at the tree making sweet babbling noises with her mouth.

"Oh, she's adorable. Come and see dada my lovely little Noxia." Severus laughed as Noxia extended her arms towards him.

Hermione laughed too and gave Noxia to Severus. Her heart melting when she saw holding Noxia like it was the world's first wonder. She too loved her daughter, but she felt that the connexion between Severus and Noxia was extremely special.

She left them and went upstairs to get herself ready. Her guests would be there in a few hours and there was still a lot to do. She began by taking a long nice hot shower before stepping into the small walk-in closet she shared with Severus. She looked through her clothes and found a beautiful red cocktail dress. She still had a little baby weight, which quite frankly she didn't care about. She found it completely ridiculous for women to feel ashamed of their baby weight. Afterall, a woman's body was made to carry a child and she was so proud to have had Noxia that she wasn't going to try and lose her baby weight at all cost.

She slipped the dress and was pleased to see it still fitted her nicely. She finished by brushing her hair, letting them fall onto her shoulder blades and back, and applying a light make up to try and make the bags under her eyes disappear. When she walked down the stairs, Severus' mouth went slack.

"Wow, Hermione Jean Snape, you look stunning. Doesn't your mother look stunning my little darling?" He asked to Noxia turning around so she could see her mother.

Noxia began crying and Hermione knew it was her cue to have her get some rest. She laid into the sofa, trying not to crumple her dress too much and took Noxia onto her belly for a little tummy time. They had this little ritual since the second week after she was born. On recommendation of the midwife, they had begun tummy time. Hermione had found out Noxia loved to be on her own tummy and take a small nap. Normally, they would lie in bed, Severus joining them on those occasion, sitting in the corner of the bedroom, reading. They would both lie for ten to twenty minutes after she had had her afternoon meal before Noxia would get cranky and Hermione took her to her crib for a nap.

While Hermione was with Noxia, Severus finished readying the house for the night and went upstairs to freshen up and change himself. He took a white shirt, black slack pants and one of his usual black teaching frock coats, deciding to forego the cloak. It was after all a family dinner and he wasn't at Hogwarts, so there was no need to impress any first years.

Finally, he returned to the living room where both of his girls were sleeping. He looked at them tenderly and placed a cover above their bodies to shield them from the chilly air of the room. The last thing they needed was for one or the two of them to get sick. He finished by lighting a fire in the chimney with a wave of his wand and put on some Christmas tunes. Ten minutes later, Noxia and Hermione were finally up and they chatted a little.

They waited for a short while before hearing the doorbell going off. It was Harry. Hermione had given Noxia to Severus and she had flung herself into Harry's arms.

"Hey 'Mione!' He exclaimed as he returned her hug. "I'm so happy to be here. Tell me, how's Noxia doing?" he inquired.

"She's doing just fine. She actually has performed some magic this afternoon. She summoned her pacifier from her crib. I think that shows her magic levels are getting back up, or so I hope. But thanks for asking." Hermione said patting Noxia's hand.

"Well I am very happy. How do you do Professor Snape?" Harry then asked more solemnly.

"I am fine, thank you Mr. Potter. I am very happy you managed to come here. It means a lot." Severus greeted him, shaking his hand.

"The others should be here in a moment. I gave them the address. We figured it's better if we all Apparated here." Harry informed them as he stepped into the house.

"Perfect. Darling, could you take his coat to the cloak room?" Severus asked to Hermione "I would have done it hadn't it been for Noxia. I'll just go and put her down. She looks exhausted." He then told her.

"Please sir, I'll be happy to do it myself. Spend a little time with my goddaughter. That is, if you don't mind?" Harry proposed to Severus respectfully.

"No, I don't mind, she's sleeping in our bedroom at the moment. First door on your left once you've gone up the stairs." He indicated him before handing him Noxia.

Once Harry was out of sight, Hermione took Severus in her arms and kissed him. Thanking him for how he was behaving. He knew that Harry, along with the Weasleys were a little like her family and she wanted them to be a part of her life, and as he waned to please her, he had decided to try and be amiable to them.

Once Harry came back, the doorbell rang once more… it was Ron and Rose.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys, I am back with a new chapter. In this chapter, you will find a little French conversation I came up with. The translation for it will be in italic.

Hope you'll like it.

J1974

Chapter 4

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Delacour. Welcome." Severus said, taking Rose's hand and placing a light kiss on the back of it respectfully.

"Thank you so much for inviting us over for Christmas Eve, and please, Sir, call me Rose." She said kindly.

"Then you can call me Severus, Rose" He told her with a polite smile.

"Hermione, I am so happy to see you once again. I haven't been able to attend the wedding and so, haven't had the time to congratulate the both of you. Also, congratulations for your new addition. Molly showed me photos, she's just adorable." Rose told the both of them.

"Well thank you Rose. We're both very happy to have you here." Hermione said before turning to Ron.

"Hey Ron" she said a little awkwardly, not really knowing if she should hug him or just shake his hand.

"Hello Hermione" he responded rather coldly. "Professor Snape" he then said, his voice quivering a little in fear.

He had received his letter and knew perfectly well he better not cross his Potions Master as he would take revenge both immediately and back at Hogwarts.

They all stayed like that for a few seconds before Hermione proposed them to go through to the living room to wait for the other guests. There, Christmas Carols were playing from an old gramophone and flutes with different types of drinks were set up onto a tray.

Harry was now talking with Severus about recent discoveries he had read about into the _Potion's daily magazine_ and had found quite interesting. Hermione and Rose were bantering away like two old friends while Ron was listening to them.

A little while later, the bell rang once more. This time, the rest of the Weasley family was at the other side of the door. Once they had welcomed everyone inside and led them into the living room that was beginning to get a little crowded, and Severus decided to enlarge it with a large veranda with a flick of his wand.

That's when Noxia decided to tell everyone she was still here. Hermione excused herself and went upstairs to fetch her daughter. When she entered the room, Noxia immediately stopped crying as she sensed her mother's presence into the room.

"Hey Noxia, Momma's right here" Hermione soothed her child as she picked her up from the crib. She kissed her cheek and laughed as she yawned a little.

She went downstairs and everyone awed when they saw who she was coming with.

Severus approached the both of them and kissed Hermione shortly before taking Noxia from her arms. She knew that, according to the wizarding tradition, as father of the child, Severus was supposed to introduce her to the family and close friends in order for her to be magically recognized by the wizarding world.

"Everyone, may I present you with Noxia, Allanna-Rose, my and Hermione Jean Snape's daughter" He said, showing Noxia to their guests.

"Oh Severus, Hermione, she's lovely." Molly exclaimed approaching Severus who was holding Noxia. "May I?" She asked.

"Of course, Molly, of course" Severus smiled to her, before giving her Noxia.

Everyone laughed sweetly when Noxia placed her little head onto Molly's chest. A few minutes later, Noxia began crying.

"What is it sweety?" Hermione asked sweetly to her daughter.

"She looks a little hungry, and tired too." Molly answered for her.

"I'll take care of that, if you would excuse me?" She said to her guests as she took Noxia in her arms.

"Lucas looks like 'e eez kind ov 'ungry too" Fleur said with her thick French accent. "Could I 'eat 'is bottle up?" She asked taking a bottle of milk out of her bag.

"Yeah, of course. Just come through to the kitchen. Does Teddy need anything?" Hermione asked to Ginny who was holding the child in her arms.

"No, I think I'll put him down before eating, he slept during the all day, but I can see that the Apparition tired him." She assured Hermione.

Hermione and Fleur went through to the kitchen and heated the bottle into a pan of water. Magic was useful in many situations, but when it came to babies, it seemed as though it wasn't as efficient as the muggle way.

After taking Fleur into the library, and handing her a nice cup of tea, she settled herself in the opposite chair and began feeding Noxia.

"I 'ave to admit. Your marriage was very impressionant." Fleur said matter-of-factly to Hermione as to begin a conversation.

"Why, thank you Fleur. Would you rather we continue this conversation in French? I know English is not your first language and it would give me the opportunity to practise my French." Hermione asked to Fleur, as she saw she was quite tired and had slipped in a few words of French already in their conversation.

"Oh, merci Hermione. Je dois t'avouer que de parler anglais toute la journée, ça me fatigue beaucoup. Personne ne le parle chez les Weasley. J'aimerais quand même que Lucas apprenne un peu le français, mais cela me semble impossible. Nous n'en avons pas encore parler avec Bill, mais cela ne serait tarder." Fleur said in a rapid, fluent French.

" _Oh, thank you Hermione. I have to admit that speaking during the whole entire day English tires me a lot. Nobody speaks at the Weasleys. I would like for Lucas to learn a little French, but this seems impossible. We haven't talked about it yet with Bill, but that shouldn't wait."_

"Ne t'inquiètes pas Fleur. Je suis sûre que Bill voudra bien que tu parles français avec Lucas. Peut-être que tu parleras avec lui français pendant que Bill parlera anglais avec lui. Moi, je suis certaine que Severus va l'initier à l'art des potions pendant que moi je devrais courir après pour pas qu'elle ne se blesse avec je ne sais quelle nouvelle idée son père aura trouver. J'ai aussi peur qu'il la fasse faire du quidditch. Il parraît qu'il était plutôt bon quand il était jeune." Hermione answered to Fleur, and after a short silence, both women laughed heartedly.

" _Don't worry Fleur. I am sure that Bill will be okay with you speaking French to Lucas. Maybe, you will speak French with him while Bill will speak English. I am certain that Severus wants to initiate her in the art that is potions brewing while I will have to run after her to make sure she won't injure herself with another of her father's idea. I am also scared that he involves her in quidditch. It seemed as though he was quite good when he was younger."_

"Sinon, ça va Severus et toi depuis la naissance de Noxia. Tu as accouché ici si j'ai bien compris." Fleur then wondered.

" _Otherwise, everything's alright between you and Severus since Noxia's birth. You gave birth here if I understood correctly."_

"Oui, j'ai décidé d'avoir Noxia à la maison. En fait, je n'aime pas les hôpitaux et j'ai donc eu une grossesse la plus démédicalisée possible. J'ai vraiment adore l'expérience. Maintenant, quand j'y repense, je ne me souviens plus de la douleur. Seulement du fait de m'être sentie bien et sereine. Bien sûr, il y avait trois sage-femmes pour m'aider ainsi qu'une doula, mais c'est Severus et moi qui avons fait le plus gros de l'accouchement." Hermione said, her eyes onto her daughter who was latching onto her left breast.

" _Yes, I decided to give birth to Noxia at home. Actually, I don't like hospitals and so I had a as unmedicalized pregnancy as possible. I really loved the experience. Now, when I look back upon it, I don't recall the pain. Only the fact of having felt good and serein. Of course, there were three midwives to held and also a doula, but it was Severus and I who did most of the work during the labor."_

"For the rest, I don't really know how to say it in French so I'll have to switch back to English, I'm terribly sorry for it. Everything was well until yesterday. We had put Noxia to bed and I went to bed and dozed off to sleep, and Severus kind of did the same. When we woke up from our nap, she was gone. Her crib was empty. She had been kidnapped. We went to the ministry and they found her five hours later. They had found her, and she was then diagnosed with magic lack. So, it was advised for us to keep her as close from the both of us as it possibly was. Then today, we went for our first walk and guess what, she summoned her pacifier from her crib. I'm happy that her magical reserves are going back up, but worried by the fact she performed magic so young." Hermione's eyes blurred themselves with tears as she related the events to Fleur who had now placed Lucas onto her shoulder and was rocking him slightly.

"Oh, 'ermione, I am so sorry. Is that why 'arry left so late in ze night?" She asked, switching herself back to English.

"Yes, he actually brought us what we needed to take Noxia back home. When we came back, we moved Noxia to our room, now, I can't spare not knowing exactly where she is. Last night, I was so afraid she would disappear once again if I slept, that Severus proposed himself to stay awake for the night while I got some rest." Hermione said, putting her dress into place before placing Noxia on her shoulder to help her digest the milk she had got.

"Looks like Lucas asleep. I'll put 'im in 'is crib. Do you mind if I bring 'im 'ere while 'e sleeps?" Fleur asked with her French accent.

"No, no, go ahead. I think I'll just put Noxia down in our bedroom with some wards and we'll be alright for the night. She looks exhausted." Hermione said as she took a deeply asleep Noxia in the crook of her arm.

The two mothers went back to the living room. Bill charmed a small crib back to its original size and installed it into the library, leaving the door ajar for them to hear if their child cried. Hermione gave Noxia to Severus and he went up the stairs and into their room, whispering a lullaby to the child.

"Sweet dreams my sweet little girl. Don't worry, mummy and dada are right there downstairs." He murmured into the child's ear before exiting the room and placing the strongest wards he knew onto it.

"She's fast asleep." Severus informed Hermione when he came back to the living room where the rest of the guests were.

"Perfect. Thank you, Severus." Hermione said, before kissing him.

She hadn't remembered that other persons were in the room and after Arthur gave a small cough, she quickly pulled away. A little bit flushed.

Everyone but Ron was looking at them with a broad smile. They were genuinely happy that Hermione had finally found the person she needed in her life to make her happy. And now that the shock had passed, found it quite logical for the two of them to be together.

"Well, why don't we open the presents and then go dine?" Severus proposed after a pregnant silence.

They all summoned their gifts and gave them to the person supposed to receive it.

Severus got one of Molly's famous jumper, some unicorn blood from Rose and Ron, two V.I.P. passes for the upcoming _PMC_ (Potion Masters Conference), a book on Potions used in the middle ages from Bill and Fleur, book which he had never read, an cheat-detecting quill from George developed for his teacher's brand, a new pair of dragon hide gloves from Charlie and a notebook from Percy which would make it impossible for persons other than him or the person he authorized to read. But the most beautiful gift had come from Hermione. It was a book filled with pictures of them since they had met. He flicked through the pages, the last photo was him with Noxia in his arms, both of them sleeping into his armchair in their room.

Hermione got another Molly jumper, the one she had being far too small for her now, a book about charms from Ron and Rose, some relaxing bath salts from Harry and Ginny, a photo frame from Fleur and Bill with shells they had gathered on the beach next to their cottage, a box of extendable ears from George, a new pair of dragon hide gloves with HS painted on them and the same notebook as Severus from Percy. Severus had given her a magnificent pair of emerald and rubies earrings that she immediately put on.

Noxia had also received gifts. The Weasley's had gifted them with a whole new set of clothes that grew with the child until he or she was one year old.

They all thanked each other before heading to the dinning room.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, sorry for the not so regular updates, I have been working on the translation of a book and I that took me quite a while. I promise the updates will be more regular from now on, normally once per week. Anyways, I hope you will all like this chapter.

J1974

Chapter 5

 _One month later_

Finally, they were heading back to Hogwarts, and with Noxia. Severus had already done many returns between Hogwarts and the clearing to transfer the necessary for Noxia. Today was the day they were supposed to go to Hogwarts before term started.

Hermione looked over her checklist one more time and checked that Noxia was snuggly fit into her cot before calling for Severus who was dressing himself.

"Coming love." He shouted from the top of the stairs, his robes billowing behind him.

"Severus, school doesn't start until tomorrow. Do you really have to wear that now?" Hermione asked to him cocking her head on the side.

"I have a reputation to keep Hermione. I don't want those dunderheads to think that I will be more indulgent now that I am a father…" Severus began to explain before Hermione broke into tears.

"Hermione, what is it? Tell me my darling love. I am sure we can talk this through." He said bringing her to his chest.

"It's just that I don't know how they will react, you know… to Noxia. She'll grow up for her first few years at Hogwarts and I don't know if I could put up with students that would insult her or spread rumors about her." Hermione explained while Severus rubbed his hand onto her back to appease her.

"Hermione Jean Snape. I swear on my magic that if anyone, and by anyone, I mean anyone, dares to insult our daughter, he will regret it for a long time. Now, I want you to stay very calm. We're going to go back to Hogwarts with Noxia and everything is going to be perfectly alright. Come now, let me arrange that dress a little." Severus said taking his wand out of his pocket and spinning it around her.

The knee-length Gryffindor-red dress lengthen itself before darkening until it was nearly a perfect replica of his dress robes.

"Sev, I think your transfiguration skills are getting better and better. You have outdone yourself, thank you." Hermione said before leaning into him and kissing him softly.

Soon enough, the kiss became more and more passionate, just before Hermione had the time to begin and remove his frock coat, Noxia's cries from the couch where her cot had been placed onto.

"Next time I guess, wife." Severus whispered in the shell of her ear before nibbling softly on it for a split second and finally leaving her to pick up Noxia from where she was and soothing her.

"My precious little girl, come now, dada's here. Shh. I know, I know." He said bouncing her slightly.

Unfortunately, the cries didn't stop and Hermione had to fly to Severus' rescue. She took Noxia from his arms.

"She's hungry, but she ate two hours ago and now she should be able to wait for another two hours. What do you think I should do?" Hermione asked to Severus as she rocked her daughter.

"I don't know my love. I am no expert with babies, I think we can try and wait until we arrive at Hogwarts and if she's still hungry afterwards, we can feed her." Severus proposed to her.

Hermione rocked Noxia for another twenty minutes until she was fast asleep.

"Come on let's go. Just let me ward the cabin and we'll be ready to go." Severus said, as Hermione tucked their daughter into the travelling cot they had.

Severus shrunk the trunks to make them fit his pocket and Hermione took the cot. They had decided to go to Hogwarts via the Floo network.

Severus was the first one to go through. He awaited at the other side of the chimney, ready to catch Hermione if she stumbled once she arrived.

A few seconds later, the fire in the chimney lit up and Hermione landed neatly onto the carpet of the living room with Noxia still asleep in her cot.

"Welcome to your new home my little angel" Severus whispered as he took her out of her cot and got her to her new bedroom.

It was a small bedroom. The ceiling was enchanted like the one in the Great Hall only this time, it showed fantastic creatures like unicorns and fairies flying over the crib. The wall were painted in a very light pink and had little stars that shone into it. The rocking chair was made out of oak as was her crib.

Severus put her down inside her crib and the small child babbled slightly before settling in for her sleep. He got out of the room as quietly as possible and closed the door, warding it with the best wards he knew.

"She's out" he informed Hermione.

"She must be exhausted, I am glad she didn't get sick. I wasn't feeling very well after my first Floo network transportation." Hermione remembered herself.

"Come now, we have to do the rest of the unpacking. Then we can maybe take Noxia to Minerva's, I am sure she's impatient to see her." He said to her before smiling.

Severus was truly happy to be back here, back into his quarters and with a wife and child. He who would normally be so lonely had now a family and could tell to himself without lying for once that he was truly happy.

"Severus, my love… Are you alright?" Severus heard Hermione ask.

"Yeah, just in my thoughts, don't worry. Just so happy to have the both of you. I would have never imagined to be so happy. I love you my wonderful witch."

"I love you too my wonderful wizard, come on let's unpack."

An hour later, they had finished unpacking and had settled into the living room's large couch. Hermione had a book about Charms opened onto her lap and was taking meticulous notes out of it, while Severus was trying to read the new Potions Weekly magazine. Try, because he couldn't stop himself to look over his book and towards Hermione who was scribbling furiously into her notebook. He admired his wife, she was the bravest woman he knew. He remembered all what they had had to go through in the last year, and couldn't imagine his life if she hadn't been there for him.

For sure, he wouldn't be there, he actually would probably dead, because hadn't it been for Hermione's healing skills, he would have bled out onto the flour of the boat house.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his daughter's cries. He wanted to stand up, but Hermione was quicker and she came back to the living room with Noxia screaming inside her arms.

"Looks like she's really hungry now, I'll just feed her and then we can go and see Professor McGonagall. I'm sure she will love her." Hermione said as she settled herself in the sofa, summoning the cushion she used to support Noxia while she nursed at the same time.

"She'll love her. Even I fell in love with this little missy. Only one with a stone heart could not love her. I shall go and change myself before it's time for us to leave." He waved his wand over the books they had used and they put away themselves neatly onto the neighboring shelves.

When Severus came back into the living room, Hermione had placed Noxia onto her shoulder and was patting her back slightly. He smiled at her and she did the same. He had downed his cloak, leaving him with his long frock coat.

When Hermione saw him, a huge smile spread across her face.

"Love, I think it would be better with the cloak." She said.

"Really? I thought you didn't want me to scare the poor little dunderheads." He answered mimicking her voice.

"Well, now, I don't want my husband to be stolen away from me. I have to admit you look quite good like that, and I would hate to see other girls see you like that, might put bad ideas in their heads"

"Herms, they are my students, what do you want them to do with me? For them, I still am the bastard in the dungeons."

"You're right, anyways Mr. Snape, I think that Miss Snape is ready for her first stroll around the Hogwarts grounds. Shall we go?" Hermione proposed as she placed Noxia in the stroller and covered her up inside the cot.

Severus gave her coat to Hermione before putting his own on and took the stroller from her. She pecked his lips and they both exited their quarters.

Their quarters had been spelled in order to have the best isolation possible, in that way, the dungeons would not be too humid and therefore Noxia wouldn't catch a pneumonia or anything worse.

They walked by several students, mostly Slytherins who bowed their heads differently towards their Head of House or Professor.

"Who would have thought him to be such a hot piece of ass?" A Gryffindor student asked to her friend as she passed the both of them.

"Miss Wintergarten, detention with Mr. Filch for a whole month for calling me, I quote 'a hot piece of ass'. Learn to respect your teachers. And also note that I will take 50 points from Gryffindor for the same motive." He said without even looking back at the student.

Hermione smiled sadly at Severus. She knew that sooner or later his student would hit on him. And she feared that he would accept their proposal and, in the end, sleep with one of them. But his reply today at the flirty girl reassured her fully.

"I'm sorry Hermione. They're just horny teens that don't know how to get my attention. I think I even was too kind with her. Maybe I should have given her two months worth of detention with Mr. Filch." He said before hugging her.

They finally arrived at the statue guarding the entryway leading to the headmaster's office.

"Gryslyravehuff" Severus said.

The statue spun, revealing the spiraling staircase leading to the headmaster's office.

"After you my sweet" Severus said before taking Noxia out of the pram and shrinking it before stuffing it in his pocket.

They arrived at the top landing and were welcomed by the warm smile of the current Hogwarts headmistress: Minerva McGonagall.

"Miss Gran… Snape, Severus… and little Noxia. Welcome back. I trust all has been well since the birth of that little angel." She said with a thick Scottish accent as she approached the both parents and the infant.

"All has been perfectly fine, thank you very much. We figured out you would like to see her, so we decided to come by quickly before heading for a little stroll before the beginning of school. And please, professor, call me Hermione." Hermione told the older witch.

"Well it's very kind of you Hermione. Could I hold her for a small moment?" She asked extending her arms towards Noxia who was still in her father's arms.

"Yes of course Minerva." Severus answered handing her his child.

A few minutes later, Minerva gave back the child to Hermione.

"My love, I have to speak with the headmistress for a few moments, would you wait for me outside? Don't worry I'll be back as soon as possible." Severus asked before kissing her forehead.

Hermione said her goodbyes to Minerva and exited the office.

"Minerva, Miss Wintergarten, she's been acted very unreasonably for quite some time. She's been teasing me. Since September actually. She has made very indecent proposal. Today she went as far as flirting openly with me in front of Hermione. I know she's just a student, and it's not the first one a student flirt with me. But it's different now. I have a wife and she needs to stop. I don't want Hermione to be uncomfortable and I will not put up with that nonsense." Severus explained rather angrily at the headmistress.

"Don't worry Severus, it will be dealt with."

"Thank you, Minerva. I hope I can count on your discretion."

"You can count fully on it."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning, Severus had the joy to wake up next to a deeply asleep Hermione. She was holding an equally sleeping Noxia and both showed no sign of waking up anytime soon. He looked at the bedside alarm clock and grunted lightly when he saw he would have to wake them in a few minutes.

Severus ultimately decided to take a quick shower before pulling his girls out of their peaceful sleep. Once he had taken his shower, he dressed himself up in his usual teaching robes and went back to the bed.

"Love? Hermione?" he whispered placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Hermione hummed lightly and turned her face towards Severus.

"Good morning darling." Severus said smiling "I saw you and Noxia asleep together this morning, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up so I took a shower instead…"

"Thanks love. She woke up at 3 a.m. and I just brought her here to feed her, and she fell asleep on me, so I didn't want to wake her up and just decided to let her sleep with us" Hermione explained to Severus.

"Come on, I'll take Noxia while you shower, then we can both go up to breakfast and we'll head to the Infirmary ward straight after for our appointment with Poppy."

He extended his arms towards their little bundle of joy and took Noxia in his arms. He went towards the nursery and placed Noxia onto the changing station. He made sure she was properly set onto the table and placed a light ward onto it to prevent Noxia from falling off while he chose some clothes for her.

He walked to the dresser that held all her clothes and picked a cute dark green and gold ensemble. He placed the clothes onto the side of the changing station and dressed Noxia into the chosen outfit, telling her how a 'beautiful little sunshine' she was during the whole process.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione found Severus playing with Noxia. It was quite a sight:

The feared Potions Master lying on his stomach, holding some kind of plush toy and waving it in front of the little green and gold dressed angel that was his daughter.

Hermione took her camera out and enlarged it a little before snapping a few pictures. She had done that a few times already. She wanted to capture those special moments. She knew that later on; those memories would be priceless to the three of them.

When Severus saw Hermione snap her photo, he laughed a little and stood up. He then picked Noxia up from the ground and placed her into her pram.

"Come on little angel, we've got to feed ourselves now. Then Poppy wants to see you, but I know everything will be fine my little darling." He said before kissing her forehead.

Noxia let a little happy shriek out of her mouth and both parents awed. It had been the first time Noxia had tried to communicate with them, and nothing made them happier than to hear that little happy cheer from their daughter.

The three of them walked to the Great Hall where students and staff were eating their breakfast in a merry mood. When they arrived inside the Great Hall, a few students had come and congratulate them on their newest addition. Some of them, mostly Gryffindors, asked them if they could hold Noxia, and Hermione agreed all heartedly while Severus couldn't stop himself from staying right behind Noxia, placing a hand on her back to make sure she was comfortable enough.

Once they managed to finally arrive at the staff's table, Hermione sat down and rocked the pram a little to make her daughter go to sleep. Severus sat right beside her and began serving her with all sorts of food.

"Eat, I don't want you nor my child die from starvation or poor-quality food."

Hermione chuckled and immediately started eating away. She had barely finished her plate when she noticed the time: 7:45. They were going to be late to the appointment with Poppy if they didn't leave now.

"Severus, look at the time, we have to be in the Infirmary at 8 sharp." Hermione said, gobbling her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Oh my you're right, come on, we'll go now. We might be able to be right on time." He said, standing up and taking the break off the pram.

They hurried to the infirmary and arrived one minute before the appointment.

"Pfew, we made it." Severus said, inhaling a lungful of air and exhaling loudly.

"We did" Hermione said in between two hurried breaths.

That's when Poppy immerged from her office. She was wearing her baby blue dress with her white apron and had a huge smile on her face.

"Severus, Hermione, and little Noxia" she greeted them.

"Poppy, thanks for taking us in, we're so sorry it's so early, but we couldn't figure any other time frame where we would both be available." Hermione apologised to the Mediwitch.

"Don't worry Hermione, I'm quite the early bird actually, I don't mind at all, and if it means I get to see your little angel, I could wake up at any hour of the day or the night. Well, if you would follow me to one of the individual bedrooms so we could take a look at our little angel over there." She said, showing them the door leading to the individual chambers.

They followed her through the doors and entered a white hospital room.

"Everything's going to be alright Herms" Severus whispered into his wife ear as he felt her getting tenser by the second.

She gave him a weak smile before squeezing his hand a little.

Severus then took Noxia out of the pram and placed her onto the examination table.

"Well, we'll begin by taking her weight and measurements, and then we'll run a few diagnostics… oh, there's also a shot that needs to be administered, but that's nothing to worry about… also, Hermione, I am supposed to check you, but that can wait for another time if you'd rather." Poppy proposed, knowing the young woman's dislike of medical environment.

"I'd rather do everything now if you don't mind Poppy." Hermione said to the witch.

"No problem, let's begin by getting you out of those clothes little Noxia so we can get your proper weight." She then declared removing the infant's clothes tenderly, yet expertly.

Once Noxia had been weighed, measured, vaccinated and given a clean bill of health, both women left Severus to dress Noxia back up and went into the second private bedroom.

Poppy began by asking her some basic questions, as how she felt on a day to day basis, how many times was she feeding Noxia, had she regular bowels movements or had she yet had her periods again.

Once that was done, she handed a gown to Hermione and asked her to put it on, once that was done, she asked her to hop on the bed.

She began to run a few diagnosis charms onto Hermione, that's when Hermione noticed the older witch was frowning. What could make the usually always cheerful witch like that?

She noticed that she ran the same diagnosis charms over and over again, and quite frankly, it was beginning to worry Hermione. What could possibly be wrong?

"Hermione, I don't want you to panic, but there's something wrong. For the moment, I can't tell exactly what is causing this, but I think it is a spell that has been dormant in you from the war, and now that your mother's magic isn't their anymore, the spell has activated itself." Poppy said to Hermione seriously.

"What's the spell doing to me Poppy, is it bad… Has it affected Noxia in anyways?" Hermione asked, suddenly very worried.

"The spell is attacking your magic reserves. Slowly, it is taking away your magic. For the moment, I don't know what the extent of the spell is neither if it affects your body function, but one thing is clear, if we do nothing, you won't have any magic left by the end of the year…" Poppy said sadly to her patient.

"But… if I lose my magic, I'll… I'll… die. I can't die. I have a little girl and a husband. I can't just leave them." Hermione sobbed.

"I'm so sorry Hermione. For the moment, you have to go to St Mungo's and get the advice of a professional. I am not experienced enough in dark spells, maybe they will find a cure there. There's also Severus that needs to be informed. I don't know how you want to break the news for him, but I think the sooner you tell him, the better. I'm terribly sorry Hermione." Poppy said, her eyes filled with tears.

She felt as though it was unfair. Unfair to Severus who after a life of serving two megalomaniac masters had finally found true joy and happiness. Unfair to Hermione who had went through so much during the war. And unfair to Noxia who would be another child whom lost her parent for this war.

Hermione dressed herself back up and went back to Severus. She wasn't ready to tell him. She knew that the second he would know about the spell, he would let everything drop to focus on healing her. She didn't want to be a burden to him. She wanted to enjoy the time they had left. She would tell him, only when she felt ready to.

"Hey love, everything's fine?" Severus asked when she came back inside the room.

"Yeah, everything's fine my love." Hermione smiled.

Her heart had clenched when she had lied to Severus. It was the first time she had done so since they were together, and it pained her to lie upon this. She kissed Severus briefly before taking Noxia and installing her into her pram.

They said goodbye to Poppy who told them they could Patronus her at any time of the day if they needed anything.

"Well, I have got to get running, Professor Flitwick is waiting for me for my first lesson on how to be a Charms teacher." Hermione said after having looked at her watch briefly.

"Good luck love, I have some grading to do, and a few things to prepare for my first class, see you at 11." Severus said before kissing her.

"See you, love. I love you too my little pumpkin" she said when Noxia let a small shriek almost as if saying 'and me?'.

She walked to her class, her head buzzing with the news she had just received. 'a spell that has been dormant', 'attacking her magical reserves'. She couldn't get the last part of Poppy's words out of her mind: not having any magic left.

It was as if she had told her she had only a year to live. She needed to do something, there was still hopes for someone to find a cure. She was sure. She promised herself to go to the library as soon as she would finish her class.

Afterall, what couldn't you find in a book?

It was on this thought that she entered Professor Flitwick's classroom.

"Mrs. Snape, what a delight to see you. Congratulations for your little Noxia, I do hope it won't be long until I can see her." He said in his over acute voice.

"Thank you, Professor, I do hope you'll soon be able to meet her"

"Oh well, we shall see to that matter promptly. For now, let me give you your new time schedule. You have the same hour frames, only not the same classes."

 _TIME SCHEDULE YEAR 1998 MRS. HERMIONE JEAN SNAPE, NÉE GRANGER_

 _Monday_

 _9 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Advanced Charm Theory_

 _1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Research_

 _Tuesday_

 _8 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Charms teaching_

 _10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Research_

 _Thursday_

 _1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Advanced Charm Practice_

 _5 p.m. – 7 p.m.: Charms (1st years)_

 _Friday_

 _10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Research_

 _2 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Advanced Charm_

 _TOTAL HOURS: 18_

"As you can see Mrs. Snape, we have arranged for you to have some research time. You will have to hand me at the end of your apprenticeship a thesis on the theme of your choosing. Depending on how well your thesis is, you will get to become or not a Charms Mistress." Flitwick informed her.

"Well, I am very grateful for your support Professor, I hope I will live up to your expectations." Hermione replied with a genuine smile.

She hadn't really thought about what her lost of magic was really meaning. How long would she be able to hide it. She really had to talk about this with Severus.

"Mrs. Snape, Mrs. Snape's… everything's alright?" The small man asked.

"Yeah, just thinking sorry."

"As I was saying, you may go to your place, the students will arrive in a short instant."

"Of course sir" Hermione said, hopping down her chair and heading to her place at the front of the class.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey guys, so here is the chapter where Severus finds out about Hermione's illness. How do you think he will react… Please review so I know if you actually like my story…

Chapter 7

The next two hours went by as a blur for Hermione who couldn't manage to focus on the lecture Professor Flitwick was giving to the rest of the class. Her mind kept playing in loop the moment when Poppy told her she was suffering from a potentially lethal curse.

She had to tell Severus. Why had such a terrible diagnosis been made today? How was she supposed to tell her husband, on the eve of his birthday, that it would be certainly the last ne they would spend together. She hadn't the courage to do that.

As she walked back to their shared apartments, she kept fidgeting with her ring. Nervous about Severus' reaction. She remembered when her grandmother had told them she had cancer and that she was going to die. The first reaction her parent had was to deny the fact. How could a 70-year-old otherwise healthy woman have cancer? She had never smoked, always eaten healthy, did sport and kept her mind operational by going often to the museum or reading books.

Then anger had come over. They didn't understand why she didn't want to fight it. They knew she was terminally ill, but they couldn't understand why she didn't want to buy them more time. Hermione, on the other side understood completely. Her grandmother had told her how painful the process was and now that she knew there was no hope left, she'd rather die quickly and painlessly.

Her parents and grandmother never spoke again. It was only when she died that they regretted their reaction, wishing that they had been there for her when she was still alive. Wishing they had understood earlier what living with cancer meant.

Once she had arrived in front of the portrait guarding their chambers, she whispered the password and the woman depicted bowed a little before swinging open.

"Severus? Love?" Hermione called out.

"I'm in my office." She heard him answer.

She dropped her bag onto the floor next to the coat hanger and hanged her cloak onto it. As she walked through the now endless seeming corridor. She took a nice long calming breath before entering the office. Her husband was sitting in his leather office chair, scribbling into a large volume.

"The idiot who wrote that book really didn't know how to make everlasting draught. A rat's tail… And what else… dragon's blood?" he was saying to himself. When he saw her, a large smile spread across his face.

"Hey darling, you're here. I haven't got class with the first years this morning so we can spend a little time together." He said, raising from his office chair and conjuring one for Hermione.

"Severus, love? We kind of have to talk." Hermione said shyly.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked carefully. "Are you pregnant?"

"No, at least I don't think so." She rapidly said. "No, we have to talk about something else… Could we go into the living room?" She asked still from the doorstep of the office.

"Of course, love, wait for me there, I'll be right back." He said putting his work away.

She nodded her head slightly and went to the living room. There, she tried to sit down onto the coach, but she had too much nerves and she ended by just pacing around the room. Finally, Severus came in.

"Herms, come here, tell me what's happening." He said sitting in the sofa and patting the spot next to it.

"You know this morning Poppy made an examination on me."

"Yes, but everything's fine… at least, that's what you told me." He furrowed his eyebrows and immediately, Hermione felt extremely guilty.

"Well, everything's not… fine. I need you to really listen to me… During the war, I don't know at what point, I was blasted with a curse. This curse was countered by my mother's magic, but unfortunately, as it is going away, the curse is going to pump my magical reserves until I have nothing left… and when that happens… and when that happens, I'm going to die…" She had whispered the last part, it was still hard for her to admit it.

Severus, on the other side didn't know how to react. Should he be angry because his wife lied to him? Should he just cry?

"You're joking. It's not possible. Please, Hermione, I don't want you to leave me. Think about Noxia, she needs you more than anyone… Please tell me we still have a long time together. It can't be that close, can it?" He asked, tears pouring out of his eyes.

"We've got a year… either to figure out a remedy… or together. I don't want to leave you too. It took us so much time to find one another, I just want to stay here and live with you and Noxia. I want to see her grow up, I want to teach her what wonderful things a library can give, I want to be there for when she'll first talk, I want to be there for when she'll first walk. But I won't be able to if we don't find a remedy because that's what fate has decided…"

"You'll be there for all of that, we'll find a remedy… I'm sure of it. I can even give you some of my magic… I'll…" He said with complete determination.

"Severus, no. I don't want you to give your magic to me. Keep it for you and Noxia, she'll need it… I don't want this year to be a year where we spend every single day worrying if we'll find the remedy or not. I want to enjoy this last year with the both of you my love." Hermione said, her eyes filled with tears.

"If you want to enjoy time with us then fight for it dammit!" He suddenly screamed at her, standing up from where he was sitting.

"Don't you think I want to fight it? I want to live for Merlin's sake!" Hermione couldn't keep it together anymore, she couldn't do anything else than melt into tears.

"I don't know if I can do this Hermione. I need time to think. Why didn't you tell me the truth straight ahead? Where you planning to hide it away from me for a long time? I'm sorry…" And with that he went back to his office, warding the door behind him.

"Severus, please, love." Hermione called after him.

When he didn't turn around, she grabbed the nearest object and hurled it to the opposite wall. The sound of shattered glass made her pour some more tears, and that's when she heard her daughter's cry coming from the nursery.

She dried her tears the best she could and took Noxia into her arms, trying to soothe her in the best of her abilities.

"Shhh, Noxia calm down, everything's going to be alright. Come now" She said, walking around the room and bouncing her lightly.

Despite her best efforts, Hermione couldn't calm her down. After thirty minutes, Severus came in the room and took Noxia from her arms. Immediately, Noxia calmed down and placed her little head against her father's shoulder.

Hermione looked at the both of them, not knowing what to say. Which mother couldn't soothe her child? She bit her lip to stop herself from crying too much and left the room hurriedly.

A few minutes later, Severus came out of the nursery. He had calmed down Noxia and had changed her. He knew that she would be hungry and that Hermione would have to take care of it.

"Hermione, could you come. I think it's time to feed Noxia…" he said softly.

Hermione nodded and murmured something that Severus didn't manage to understand. She approached them and took Noxia from his arms before going back into the nursery and closing the door behind them.

Severus sighed before going back to his office.

Before going for her afternoon classes, Hermione went to his office and hesitated a few seconds in front of the closed door, in the end, she decided to just go back and go to class. She didn't have the courage to stand in front of him only to be told he still had to think about it.

As she pulled her cloak on, she heard a door open and a few seconds later, Severus was there.

"I want to be there for you my love. I want to have as much time as we can have together. I want to live up to my vow. I love you Hermione Jean Snape." He said to her, his eyes red and filled with tears.

"I love you too Severus. I really…" before she had the time to finish her sentence, his lips crashed against hers and there was little she could do but just drop her bag and hang onto him as he gave her one of the most passion filled kiss he ever had.

"I think we should take the rest of the day off and go see Minerva to explain her the situation. There's also Flitwick to warn and of course, Harry, Ron and Ginny…" he whispered against her lips.

"I'll ask Wilky to keep an eye on Noxia in the meanwhile. We also have to go to St Mungo's this weekend for further exams. Poppy gave me the name of a specialist who could help." She said softly to him.

They called Wilky and explained him what is happening. He shed a few tears saying over and over how sad he was for Mistress' fate and that he would do anything in his power to make this last year as pleasant as possible.

They took their leaves and went to Minerva's office. Severus holding onto Hermione by the waist, not caring at the looks the students were throwing at them and glaring at a few of them.

They finally arrived at the foot of the statue guarding the headmaster office and once they had given the right password to it, the statue stepped aside and they climbed up the spiraling staircase.

"Severus, Hermione… To what do I owe the pleasure?" the headmistress asked them with a broad smile on her lips.

"Minerva, we have something to tell you, it's a rather important matter. I do hope we can count on your unwavering confidentiality." Severus said to the older witch.

"Naturally, maybe we'll be comfier in the living room with nice cup of tea…" she proposed the both of them, showing them to a small lounge area set up behind her desk onto a small raised platform.

Once they had been served a cup of tea, Hermione cleared her throat.

"Minerva, this morning, I had an appointment with Poppy and… she found that there was a curse that had laid dormant inside me from the war. Until now. The fact is that this curse is slowly pumping my magical resources and unfortunately, if we don't find an antidote soon enough…" she hadn't the strength to continue and tears began to pour down her face.

Severus took her hand in his own before finishing the sentence for her.

"… she'll die Minerva."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he felt Hermione's arms around him as she pulled him in for a hug to recomfort herself.

"I'm so sorry Hermione… and you Severus… If there is anything I could do… of course, I understand if you have to take a leave. If I can help with Noxia or anything at all actually, do tell me."

"Actually Minerva, we haven't really discussed that together. We also have to tell my friend, could you ask them to come here? I'd rather tell them as soon as possible." Hermione asked, looking at her feet.

"Of course, Hermione. Of course. Do you want me to go and look over Noxia in the meanwhile?"

"No, I'd rather you stay here. Wilky is already looking over her."

"Alright, I guess I'll Patronus them now and we'll just wait for them."

Once she had done just that, she went over to Hermione and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so very sorry Hermione. I'm sure there must be a way to heal you. Just know that if you need anything at all, I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Minerva it means a lot to us" Hermione said.

"It's nothing at all Hermione, you did so much for us during the war, supporting you in those moments is the least we can do."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They exited the headmistress' office five minutes later, Severus holding onto Severus tightly, not caring the slightest bit that there were other students in the hallways. They made their ways back to their quarters were Wilky had prepared a fantastic meal for the both of them. They thanked the little elf profusely before he left the room and went back to the nursery where Noxia was still fast asleep.

They spent a long time eating, first in silence, just looking at each other, their hands intertwined. Then, after thirty minutes, Severus had began making small idle talks, and Hermione had joined in. At the end of the meal, both were laughing to tears. The moment felt so good, so right to the both of them, that neither wanted it to stop.

Hermione was now lying down into the sofa in front of the fireplace which was letting a soft golden glow inside the room, she was cradled inside Severus' legs and holding Noxia securely onto her stomach. The infant's tiny fists and head lying onto her chest.

Severus watched the two most precious persons in his life, he watched as his wife seemed to have slipped into the most peaceful sleep she had ever had. Then suddenly, he felt himself being drawn to her, and before he had the time to realise it, he had slipped into her thoughts.

 _He was standing in a huge library, its heavy shelves filled with books of all colors and shapes. He walked carefully between the shelving, looking at the titles engraved on the side of them. Some of them seemed to be of a darker, almost, but not quite black color, while others looked as if they had been made out of solid gold._

 _He continued his way through the shelving until arriving to a wrought iron gate. He couldn't see what was at the other side of the gate. He walked nearer towards the gate and tried to open it in vain. He got his wand out of his cloak and pointed it at the gate._

" _Open yourself for I shall not harm thy soul. That I swear on my magic." he said slowly waving his wand in a complicated pattern._

 _Slowly, the door opened itself. Without a second thought, he walked inside the dark fog that was beyond the gate. He only made a few steps before seeing something in the distant. It was even darker than the darkness that surrounded him. He approached it and slowly he recognized the shape as being of human shape._

 _He advanced it, more carefully this time. As he looked at it more intently, he began recognizing some of its outline. The silhouette was thin and bony, it was draped in a large cloak that seemed too big to fit the person that was clothed in it._

 _Suddenly, the silhouette's upper part turned towards him. His eyes went instantly round as he recognized whose body, he had been looking at during all this time. He made a few steps backward, not believing what he was seeing. But the two red slits that were looking menacingly at him made it impossible to have another doubt._

 _It was Voldemort, Voldemort was still alive. Barely, but still alive, and alive in his wife's mind. He suddenly understood that Hermione wasn't dying because of a curse, she was dying because Voldemort was feeding on her to come back to life. Quickly, he ran back through the gates and warded them to the best of his ability. He then exited his wife's mind as swiftly as he could so he didn't hut her._

He didn't know if Hermione had seen the same thing as he had, but he didn't want to wake her up for now, the only reminiscence of his intrusion was a slight frown that she now harboured. He cradled her tighter, making sure Noxia was still asleep.

An hour later, Hermione woke up to Noxia's cries. Hermione took Noxia to the nursery where she changed her diaper and fed her quickly, leaving the door ajar and watching over her husband who was still asleep on the sofa.

When Severus awoke, he noticed that Hermione wasn't cradled inside his embrace anymore. He looked around and noticed the door of the nursery slightly opened. He walked towards it and peeked through the interstice of the door.

She was holding Noxia inside her arms and singing to her in a foreign language.

"Et demain matin, mon petit ange tu trouveras dans ta maison, tout l'amour dont tu as rêvé, petite fille il est l'heure d'aller se coucher. Tes yeux se voilent, écoute les étoiles… tout est calme, reposé, entends tu les clochettes tintinabuler?"

He looked at the both of them, and with a slight wave of his wand committed the instant to his memory.

Once Noxia was fast asleep in Hermione's arms, he came inside the room and sat down into the rocking char she had been feeding Noxia in. She smiled at him and he made sign for her to come to him. She obeyed and placed Noxia into his arms, his daughter moved a little in her sleep before settling in, taking her thumb inside her mouth.

Hermione snapped a picture with a quick spell and the photo appeared on the wall inside a beautiful golden frame.

"Hermione," he whispered, not wanting to wake Noxia up. "I have to tell you something, I think it's better if we go to the living room. I don't want to wake her up."

Hermione went back towards them and took Noxia from him. She settled the infant inside the crib and locked the door strongly.

"What is it Sev?" Hermione asked a little confused and scared.

"When you were asleep, a couple hours ago, I was looking at you, and suddenly, I was inside of your mind. I didn't want to use Legillimency on you, but it sorts of happened. When I was in your mind, I saw something. It was a gate with at the other side a large fog, I walked inside the fog and there was something there. Love, Hermione, there's a part of Voldemort that lives inside of you. I believe that's what's draining your magic. Because for him to be able to continue to live, he needs to use your magic." He said looking at her in the depth of the eyes.

To say that Hermione was shocked, was an understatement. She didn't understand how it had happened. How could Voldemort be living inside of her? She hadn't been his victim, or at least, not directly. She began to sob softly inside of Severus' arms, not really sure if she should be glad that what was draining her magic was one of the darkest wizards of all time.

"Hermione, I don't know if we can take away the part of soul that is inside you, but I promise I'll do whatever is possible. Even though, we discovered it's not a curse that is affecting you, I still believe that the effects are going to be the same. You will lose your magic, and if we don't find a solution quick enough, it will be as if you had suffered from the curse." He said, stroking her hair lightly.

Suddenly, Hermione jerked herself away from Severus, she felt disgusted with herself, disgusted that this monster who was Voldemort was now living thanks to her. Disgusted that this monster had maybe tampered in any way with her child. And, last but not least, disgusted that so many had fallen, all for nothing in the end as He was still alive after all.

Severus pulled her closer to him, he could feel her discomfort, but when she had married him, he had promised her to be with her for better and for worse, and that was exactly what he would do for he loved her.

After an hour, Severus rose from the couch, Hermione had fallen asleep and he wanted to know to what extent he could interact with the bit of soul inside his wife's. He took her in his arms and went to the bedroom where he settled with her cradled in his legs.

 _Once again, he was pulled from the surrounding world and into her thoughts. He focused onto the connection and was once again in the library. The books around him were of a brighter colour. He even saw a bright red one on the top of a shell. A part of him wanted to open one of those books and look at it. But his rational side told him that her mind was already messed with enough. He walked for a short instant before finding the gate. It was still secured and it relieved him that his wards had held. He raised his hand in a sort of salute and passed through the golden bars that made the gate._

 _Suddenly, a voice filled the entire space around him._

" _Severus, I was waiting for your visit. I think that congratulations are in order. Don't you think so?" The recognisable voice of Voldemort said inside the darkness._

 _A silhouette was advancing towards him, it was dressed in a long black cloak but seemed brighter than the darkness surrounding him. Once again, the hooded figure spoke to Severus_

" _Marrying a Mudblood, and having a child with it… Noxia, I believe her name is. Sounds familiar, wasn't Noxia the name of your dead sister? Anyways, you have deceived me greatly Severus, and I do think that you should pay for the sin you committed against the Magical World. That will be dealt with once I manage to rise back into power." He said, mocking Severus._

" _Do you really believe that it'll happen, that you'll manage to regain your followers_ Tom _…" Severus said, letting it hang in mid air._

" _I think I will, I am more powerful than what you think Severus. But first, rest assured that you, and your family will pay dearly for what you have done and the tone you used on me… I think I might just begin… now"_

 _The second later, Severus felt the darkness surrounding him close up on him, as Voldemort used his worse Crucio spell directly onto Hermione's soul. He tried to prevent the darkness to submerge him, but when he saw that he would not be able, he decided to pull out._

 _He retraced his way back and closed the gates, warding them furthermore, before exiting her thoughts._

Hermione's eyes and fists were tightly shut as she seemed to be in the most extreme of pain. Severus held her tight and woke her up, trying to help her overcome the pain she was enduring.

"Shh, my love, you need to shut him out. Concentrate on me, look at me… It's alrght my darling, I am right here. I won't let you down." He tried to soothe her, massaging her shoulders slightly and kissing her forehead lightly as her breathing came back to normal.

"What was that?" She asked, her voice rasping.

"I went back into your mind and spoke with Him. He wants to come back to power, I confronted Him and I guess He used a Crucio spell. The fact that he acted directly onto your mind's core made it hurt even more so… I'm so sorry my love…" He said, feeling guilty to have been the reason of having inflicted so much pain to her.

"Severus, it's alright, I'm fine now, I feel very tired, but fine. Do you think he pumped directly into my magical reserves?" She asked worried.

"I don't know. I think we should go to St Mungo's to…" he started, caressing her hair slightly to soothe her.

"No, no, no… I don't want to go. Once they figure out that it's not a spell, but Voldemort who's the reason of my magic loss, they are going to lock me up. That I am sure. I mean, I understand, I'm a threat to the magical world. Because of me, Voldemort managed to live…" She was now crying.

She stood up from the bed and went towards the window. Severus didn't dare move. What was she doing?


	9. Chapter 9

Warning, this chapter contains mature content, if you are less than 18 and/or not comfortable around those scenes, please do not read this chapter, you have been warned.

Chapter 9

Hermione went to the latch that kept the window closed and played with it for a few seconds before taking it fully. Before she had the time to open the window, Severus understood what she was going to do and leapt towards her.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, rapidly closing the latch and taking her in his arms to comfort her.

"I can't Sev, I can't live with myself, knowing that thanks to me Voldemort lives. What if he messes up with my mind like he did with Quirrell and I end up hurting someone. I think it's better for you to let me go, we don't even know if we'll manage to rid ourselves of him. It's better if I go… Please, Sev, let me…" She sobbed into his arms, weakly trying to escape from his hold.

Instantly, he crashed his lips against her. He knew that in some situations, actions were much more efficient than words. Quickly enough, she began to respond to his kiss, caressing his tongue with her own while her hands roamed on his body.

He kissed his way until her ear and bit lightly the shell of it, nuzzling his nose into her hair and taking deep breaths of a scent that he could only describe as _her_.

"My dear, I will never leave you alone. I am here for you… _Always_." He breathed into her ear, his velvet like voice making her shudder in anticipation to what was going to happen.

"I love you Severus, please take me, it's been too long." She let escape with a moan as he suckled onto her neck, leaving small red trace behind.

"With the greatest pleasure my love, just please, never do that again. I don't know what I'll do without you by my side. I would go barking mad." He said, pausing an instant his ministration and looking at her dead in the eyes.

Hermione smiled a little and kissed his cheek sweetly before searching for his mouth again. Their kisses were now filled with passion and more urge than before. He scooped her up in his arms and placed her on the bed, he rose back up from it and took in the sight of his wife spread across the bed, her eyes filled with lust.

She rose from the bed, surprising him for an instant, and turned him around onto it, pinning him to the mattress without a second thought. She kissed him fiercely, taking grasps of his shirt and ripping it away from his body rapidly. When one of the buttons of his frock coat resisted a tiny bit too long for her taste, she ripped it away.

Severus was looking at her, both his hands inside her curly mane of hair, not caring the slightest bit about the ripped clothes. Soon enough, he too needed more. He took her school shirt and quickly unfastened the buttons hiding her luscious breasts from his sight.

"Not so fast my princess, I want to take all my time." He told her in the shell of the ear.

"Severus Tobias Snape, if you don't take me right now, I swear to Merlin I'll use an Unforgivable to make you." Hermione scram as he took her full breast in his mouth and suckled on it.

"I don't want you to be away from me my love, come now."

And in a split second, all their clothes had disappeared from their bodies. A few seconds later, they were both panting and moaning in earnest, and both of their excitements were visible.

"Hermione, I love you so so much, I don't want to let you go. Fight this with me darling, and never leave me because I don't know what I would do without you" Severus said before pushing inside her and staying flushed with her, committing each movement to his memory.

Hermione's hips grinded against his own, impaling themselves onto his proud cock. When she reached down to him to kiss him, he spun them around so he was on top.

"Hey, that's not fair, I was on top…" Hermione pouted to him as he caressed her face.

"You'll have plenty of time to be on top another time my perfect little darling, for the moment, enjoy." Severus said, pressing his points by kissing her and thrusting himself into her languidly.

"Fuck, Severus… please… don't stop." Hermione panted as her orgasm approached.

Just when she was about to fall over the cliff of her precipice, Severus stopped and pulled away. Hermione cried out in desperation and Severus positioned himself behind her, hugging her hips and bringing her towards himself. He thrusted and entered her vagina. She cried out once again, but this time in pleasure as he began to play with her clit.

"Come for me my darling" He whispered in the shell of her ear.

"Sev" Hermione moaned as she came, biting onto the nearby cushion as to not wake Noxia up.

Her orgasm triggered Severus' release who came inside her, murmuring all sorts of compliments to Hermione who didn't have the force to register them. He pulled himself out of her and pulled the comforter over the both of them, nuzzling in the nape of her neck.

"Sleep my darling, I'm right there and I'll stay by your side no matter what." He whispered in her ear, utterly spent.

It was right then that Noxia choose to wake up and ask for her parent's attention. Hermione tried to move from her spot, but she felt Severus place a hand on her shoulder to stop her from doing so.

"I'll bring her darling" He told her, putting his robes on.

Hermione got out of bed and pulled her robes on, she plucked the cushions towards her and puffed them up before settling herself. A few minutes later he came back through the door with a crying Noxia in his arms.

"Come here my love. I know, come see mommy." She told her child, extending the arms towards her and taking her from Severus' arms.

"I just changed her before bringing her here." Severus informed her smiling at the picture in front of him.

As she fed her daughter, Severus walked towards the far end from the bedroom. He opened a disk turner and placed a disk inside it. Immediately, a soft jazz tune filled the room. Hermione looked up at Severus, her eyes filling with tears.

 _Song: This is a man's world by_ _ **James Brown**_

 _This is a man's world, this is a man's world  
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl_

 _You see, man made the cars to take us over the road  
Man made the trains to carry heavy loads  
Man made electric light to take us out of the dark  
Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark_

 _This is a man's, a man's, a man's world  
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl_

 _Man thinks about a little baby girls and a baby boys  
Man makes then happy 'cause man makes them toys  
And after man has made everything, everything he can  
You know that man makes money to buy from other man_

 _This is a man's world  
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl_

 _He's lost in the wilderness  
He's lost in bitterness_

He was now sitting next to her in the bed, his lips a few millimeters away from her own.

"He's lost in bitterness…" He said, in echo to James Brown's voice which stopped singing a few seconds ago, before leaning in more and giving her a kiss that left her lips tingling.

"I don't know what I would do without you my darlings" He told the both of them, placing a light kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"We're going to fight this… I want to begin now. We have to do this when I still have some magic in me." She told him, stroking Noxia's skin in the process.

"Herms, I love you so much. Of course, we'll start straight away. We just have to ask Wilky to take care of Noxia while we try and cure you. You're so brave my wonderful wife, you have absolutely no idea how much I care for you…" He told her, taking her face in his hands and kissing her softly on the lips.

They called for Wilky and a few seconds later, the small elf came in through the door and took Noxia from Hermione's arms.

"Alright, now, I think the best way to do this is to try and fight him off, while preventing him from going into another part of your mind where he still hasn't been. The most important is that he doesn't go into the core of your mind. If he does that, all hopes are crushed. But don't worry, I will not let him come for you so easily." Severus explained to her.

"But how will you do that love?" Hermione asked, quite puzzled.

"First, we have to find what is keeping him 'alive' What is preventing his soul from going with his body. Once we found that out, we need to, either destroy what is preventing him from leaving the living realm, or if we can't contain the leftover soul in a soul jar. In both cases, we'll have to fight him again. Either to definitely kill his soul, or to force his soul into the jar." Severus explained looking at her in the dead of the eyes.

"I can do this. With what do we start?"

"I have to use Legillimency on you to try and get into your mind. Once I've done that, I will need you to concentrate on me and guide me to your subconscious. Don't worry, you'll understand once I use Legillimency. For know, make yourself comfortable and brace yourself."

"What if it hurts?"

"If it hurts, we'll find another solution to access your subconscious. Don't think about that for now love. Just relax and guide me." He said, placing his hands on her temples.

 _Darkness was surrounding him. He wasn't in the usual library._

" _Hermione, it's me, Severus. If you can hear me, please, could you make my surroundings brighter?"_

 _He saw an otter appear next to him and the darkness was now replaced with a soft shimmering light. He was standing in the library he had already been twice in._

" _Thank you, love. Now, I want you to focus onto the day of our wedding and focus on the most details you can." He told her softly._

 _The small otter soared in mid air onto his left. He followed it until he arrived onto a bridge made out flowers and gems of all colors._

" _Perfect, I have found the way to your unconscious. I am going to ward it off, so if Voldemort tries to get in, we might manage to stop him for a little time." He said, taking his wand out of his cloak._

 _After ten minutes of warding, he went back on his steps and exited her mind with the upmost care as not to hurt her._

"Hey, well done love, you lead me perfectly into your subconscious. Now, we just have to wait a little. I don't want to exhaust you too much. Rest a little. I'll stay right there by your side my angel."

She smiled a little at him before closing her eyes and drifting to sleep. As he looked at her, tears began to swell into his eyes. Never had he imagine that one day he would have someday, someone who loved him so much. He knew how lucky he was to have a woman like Hermione by his side. She had been the one to save him when Nagini had bitten him, she had gave him a beautiful daughter and now she needed him, and he would be there for her.

"Sleep well my darling." He finally said, circling her petite frame inside him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The dinning bell rang, waking Hermione and Severus up. They both dressed into their everyday clothing before exiting their bedroom and heading towards Noxia's. Wilky told them that Noxia had been fed and changed before exiting the room.

"She's not asleep. Maybe we could all take a little walk after dinner. I'd love to spend a little time with both of you." Severus proposed.

"I'd love that. Let me get some warmer clothes for Noxia. The last thing we need is for her to get sick. But first, my handsome husband, I would like for you to take me to the Great Hall to have a good dinner." Hermione teased him.

Both of them prepared themselves for dinner and the walk planned ahead. Severus went to unfold the crib and finally managed to do so after a few swears and two kicks into the blasted engine.

"Severus, we better go, otherwise we won't have time to eat. Dinner ends at 8, remember?" She asked, carrying Noxia in her arms. She had been changed into the cutest little apparel Severus had ever seen. A plush white onesie with a little black coat and lastly, a white scarf.

"Wow, you're beautiful my little girl…" He said, taking her from Hermione's arms and tucking her in inside the stroller.

Hermione smiled as she saw them together, Noxia babbling at her father while she played with a strand of his hair.

"Anyways, we have to go now. Here is your cloak darling" Hermione said as she gave Severus his winter cloak.

They walked the hallways, Severus pushing the stroller as the both of them talked about class and other recently read articles. They arrived inside the Great Hall and a few students looked at them as they made their ways towards the table standing on the small podium at the end of the Great Hall.

"Ah, Severus, Hermione. We're so glad that you could join us." The headmistress said, smiling at them.

"We're happy to see you too Professor," Hermione said to the elderly witch.

They ate their dinner, chattering away with the other teachers. Apart from the headmistress, nobody knew of her condition, and she was still bound to tell Harry and Ron about it. A part of her wanted to tell it now, while another wanted to keep that a secret.

It was Noxia's cries that brought her out of her stupor.

"Stay Hermione, I'll take care of her. You just stay right there and finish up with your dinner." Minerva McGonagall exclaimed, the second the cried broke out of their daughter's mouth.

Severus nodded at the older witch as she took the stroller and rolled it out of the Great Hall under the scrutiny of the few pupils that were still seated inside the Great Hall, finishing their dinners up.

 _Two months later_

"Hermione, love, wake up darling," Severus whispered in his ear wife, stroking a loose strand of curly hair.

She groaned slightly and turned towards her husband who had a small smile on his lips.

"Come on, we have to wake up. We have to go and see Poppy today to see how your magic stocks are. Remember, I'll always be there for you love. No matter what. I promised it to you on our wedding day."

Hermione got up and went to the bathroom where she did her morning routine before hearing Noxia's cries from the nursery. She quickly downed a bathrobe and rushed to the nursery. Severus was already there, holding the infant to his bare chest and whispering sweet nothings in her ear to appease her. Her heart melted as Noxia settled inside Severus' arms, only to go back into a deep slumber.

"Severus, love, get your ass in the shower, right now. We're going to be late." Hermione chastised her husband cheekily.

In a few strides, he was standing in front of her. Her face leveled with his bare chest. She took a breath and his earthly, manly scent made her week in the knees. She knew that if he didn't get out of her way in a few seconds, she would not be responsible for her actions anymore.

He placed a small peck on her lips, leaving them to tingle slightly before leaving the nursery with the same long and rapid stride.

An hour later, both of them were inside the nursery. Hermione had been given a hospital gown and was now laying in one of the cots, while Severus held onto her hand as if dropping it would tear him apart.

"Hermione, Severus, I have good and bad news for you. Which one would you rather hear first?" She asked, tenderly.

"The bad news first please," Hermione said, looking defeated.

"Your magic stocks are getting lower and lower quicker than I expected. I'm worried that you won't live until December if your magic stocks keep going down at such a rapid pace."

Hermione sobbed and Severus immediately gathered her up in his arms, surrounding her body into his cape, trying to comfort her the best he could.

"Poppy, what is the good news then?" Severus asked, comforting his wife.

"I might have an idea to prevent her from dying, but she will have to give up her magic for that. Meaning…"

"She'll be considered as a pariah. She'll no longer be able to live inside of the Wizarding Realm and all the memories she has about it will have to be erased…"

He said before looking at her with teary eyes. He knew that she would never want to abandon this world. She had no longer any contact inside the Muggle world, without speaking about studies. She would have to learn it all again… His selfish heart wanted to keep her to himself, but he wanted her to live. Even if it meant letting her go.

"Severus, I can't do that. I love you and Noxia. I could not leave either of you behind me. I would be heartbroken…" She sobbed into his cape.

"Shh, my love. I know it's hard, but I'd rather know that you are safe and alive than dead. I don't want to leave you either my beautiful witch, but we have little to no choice it seems. I can't let you die my sweet darling. If you die, my heart will be ripped into two pieces, and believe me it'll kill me." He said, stroking her hair softly, trying to comfort her as tears of sorrow streaked his face.

"Mr. and Mrs. Snape, maybe you'd first want to know what the cure consists of and how it will help you?" Poppy asked, conjuring a chair and tea set in front of her.

"Yeah, of course," Hermione said, trying to prop herself onto the cushions that were in her back.

"I think that there is something inside of you that is pumping your magic. The only way I can think of at the moment to make it go away is to take what it needs to survive: your magic. For me, there are two possibilities in doing that. The first option we exhaust you magically without giving you any rest. Leaving little to no time to your magic to regenerate itself. The second option, we give you a potion that _freezes_ the magic inside of you, so it can neither be used by you or anything else." Poppy explained to the couple, as she poured them drinks.

"And wouldn't we be able to cancel the effects of the potion or something?" Hermione asked the both of them.

"No, this kind of potion is irreversible. It was created after the goblins' war; you must know that during this war thousands of magical creatures were tortured and killed. The Ministry was under a lot of pressure coming from the different representatives of the species that had been afflicted by it. They created a potion for the persons and magical creatures that carried or ordered those acts. They have been banned from the magical world and given this potion, so that they couldn't use their powers, even unintentionally." Severus explained to Hermione who let a slight sob get out of her.

"I have to think about it all. Can I come back to you at the end of the week?" Hermione asked weakly.

"Of course, but we have to act fast before it is too late." Poppy answered.

She left both of them, and Hermione got up from the bed she was laying in. She walked to the side of the room and hurriedly put her wizarding robes back on. She cried doing so, knowing it might be one of the last times she would be doing so. She didn't want to leave the wizarding world. She had everything there. Friends, family, a career, and most importantly Severus who had been there for her during her pregnancy and through the last two months. She couldn't just leave him behind, could she?

On the other side, he was such an accomplished Potions Master that there had to be a way for him to find a counter-potion. Of that, she had little doubt. And the way he had looked at her when Poppy had given her the options. His eyes begging her to abandon her powers so she could stay alive.

"Herms, love. Are you coming?" Hermione heard Severus ask from where he was still sitting.

"Yeah, coming," Hermione said, wiping the tears off of her face.

"Darling, I have thought about it, and I think we have to tell Potter and the Weasleys at least. I know it doesn't seem easy but they need to know. You can't not be here anymore without having explained the situation to them."

"You're right. We could tell them over dinner. Mom always said that bad news is better taken over a large feisty meal."

He took her by the arm and led her to their quarters. Once there, he helped her get out of her winter cloaks and went to the kitchenette to prepare her a little meal. Hermione went to the nursery. In two months, their daughter had grown up quite a bit and could now hold her head up without any problem.

She entered the room and was met by the two large black marbles that were her daughter's eyes. Her features had begun to define themselves more and more, now everyone could see that she was the spitting image of her father. Black curly hair, black eyes, semi-crooked nose. Hermione even swore that she had one day given her the same scowl as her husband when she had given her to Harry for a walk. She had only inherited her mother's smile.

"Hey sweety, how are you? Mamma and Dada are back. I see you woke from your nap. Look at your hair, it's all messy…" Hermione giggled, seeing her daughter's hair mussed from what looked to be an agitated sleep.

Noxia extended her arms towards her mother and Hermione bent to take her daughter. The infant nuzzled into her mother's chest smiling a little.

"Oh, I know that face, you little miss are hungry. Am I not right? Come now, let's feed you" Hermione said, taking her to the living room where Severus had set a table for the two of them.

"Oh, Sev" Hermione gasped seeing all the work her husband had done to give the small room a cozy and romantic feeling.

"Don't say anything. From now on, I'm going to take advantage of every single second I get to spend with you. And that begins with a nice lunch. Then, I'll bring you to the bookshop where you'll be able to get as many books as you want. After we'll go to the _Grande Fourchette_ , I have booked a table for seven people at 8 p.m." He said, going towards his daughter and wife and encircling them in his arms.

"Da…da…, a… a…" Noxia babbled while they were hugging.

"Noxia, you just spoke. Oh my!" Hermione said, her eyes filling up with tears.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A/N: Hey guys hope everyone is alright. I know the updates are a little sparse but it's exam time back here in my country and I have got to keep those grades up. Anyways here's a chapter for you all to enjoy.

J1974

 _Later that day_

"Darling, I have to tell you something…" Severus said once they had finished eating dinner. It only took a second for Hermione's smile to be replaced with a concerned look. He hated seeing her like that, so miserable. "You know that our Legillimency sessions have been going well." He waited for her to nod before continuing. "Well, I think that we could rid your mind of Voldemort on the next attempt. It is going to be painful, but if we want to have a chance at this, we have got to act quick. So what do you think?"

"Alright, but if after that he is still there, you have to promise me to let me go. I want you to swear it to me that you'll do everything in your power to save the wizarding world by letting me go." She said, looking at him in the dead of the eyes.

He looked at her, and before she had time to realize, he took her in his arms and held her tightly onto his heart, his face buried inside her mane of curls.

"Alright my love, I will let you go if that is what you think is best then that's what we'll do…" He whispered into her hairs, trying his best not to cry.

It was too much for Hermione and she began crying loudly, muttering how completely unfair life was towards both of them and that she would love him until her dying day. She daren't pull away from him, afraid that by doing so he would disappear.

"Come now sweetheart, let's go… We can do this my strong lioness…" He whispered, picking her up bridal style and letting her rest her head in the crook of his neck.

He carried her to the bedroom and laid her inside the bed before climbing himself in bed and taking her in his arms, pulling her as closely as humanely possible to his heart.

He took a large breath and entered her mind without a single word.

 _Once again he was inside the library. Unfortunately, he noticed that something was wrong straight away. The books which would normally be lined up against the wall methodically were lying on the floor, some of them even had pages torn._

 _He began to speed up, trying to find once again the entry to the area was contained in. He arrived finally at the gate and scram in horror when he saw that the gate had been forced open and was hanging off of its hinges._

 _Suddenly, a voice rose behind him._

" _Finally, Ssseverussss, I am afraid your visit is long overdue." Voldemort's voice said in a serpent-like way. "How dare you not bow in front of your master?" He asked, once Severus had turned around and was now facing him._

" _I see no masters here Tom…" Severus replied with all the courage he could muster up._

" _Severus, what mistake you are doing… I am only going to say this once: Join ussss!"_

" _Never!" Severus replied_

" _Join usss or die" Voldemort replied smiling in a sick kind of way._

" _NO!" Something resembling strongly to Hermione's voice scram._

 _In an instant, the dark library was filled with a blinding white light before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. The library was now in complete darkness apart from a spot of light in the distance. He approached it and on his way tripped over something lying on the ground. It was Voldemort. Rapidly his featured disappeared as his whole body transformed into dust before disappearing into the air._

 _Severus looked as the last remains of Voldemort flow into the air and disappeared. The reality suddenly sank in. Voldemort was gone and for good now. He had to tell Hermione. As softly as possible he got out of her mind_.

He was back inside his bedroom, his lover's body inside his arms.

"Hermione, we did it, he's gone…" He said, tears of joy filling his eyes as he pulled her towards him and hugged her as tightly as possible.

It was only then that he realized something was wrong… something was really wrong. She was barely breathing.

"Hermione, love, talk to me… Please, squeeze my hand or open your eyes. My little lioness… I beg you." He said, laying her down onto the bed slowly, but keeping her head into his lap.

"Sev…" He heard her voice murmur.

"Yes, my love. I'm here, rest for now," he replied stroking her cheek lightly.

"Sev, I haven't much time left… Tell Noxia that I love her, and take care of her… Tell Harry, Ron and Ginny thank you for everything… Thank Molly and Arthur also, and Minerva…" She said in between ragged breaths.

"No, you go and tell them yourself, you're going to be fine… hush now, rest. Don't speak." He said, covering her mouth with his index.

"Sev, kiss me… please." She whispered against his finger, a tear slipping from her eye and disappearing into her mane of curls.

"Herms, love, please… Stay with me. I need you." He told her, tears escaping his eyes.

"I'm so sorry my love, please…" She breathed out, her breathing getting more and more ragged.

He lied down next to her and kissed her; the kiss was the sweetest one the couple had ever exchanged. They stayed like that for a long moment, he kept whispering sweet nothing in her ear, telling her everything would be alright, that he was there and that he wouldn't leave her.

"Severus, thank you. I love you Sev. I love you so so much." She whispered against his lips.

"I love you so much, Hermione… I'll always love you. You, me, always." He replied before kissing her.

When the kiss ended, he felt her exhale one last time and she moved no more.

"NO, HERMIONE… PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME…" he scram, letting all his barriers down, tears pouring down his face before landing on hers.

Right at this moment, he heard the crack of an apparition inside the living room and a few seconds later, a knock on the door.

"Minerva…"

"Severus, Hermione, it's…" She barely had the time to finish her sentence when she saw Severus' tears-stricken face.

"Severus… What happened?" She asked, coming towards him.

"She's gone… Gone…" He sobbed.

"Oh, Severus, I'm so sorry" She said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "I came in to tell you that Noxia is hungry… But now… Don't worry, I'll get an elf to take…"

"No, I promised her to take care of Noxia. Just leave me a few more instants" He said, not looking away from his wife's body that he was still holding.

After five minutes, he pulled away and laid her carefully onto the bed, resting her head on a cushion and placing her hands onto her belly. He placed a last tender kiss on her forehead and wiped his tears.

"If you want, I could stay here. Watch over her and prep her maybe, for you know…" The older witch proposed, placing a hand on Severus' forearm.

He nodded slowly and exited the room with one last look to his wife's seemingly asleep form on the bed on which she was lying.

He went to the nursery and picked up a screaming Noxia from her crib, holding her as close as possible onto his heart, his large nose buried inside the hairs that had grown on her head. Those hairs reminded him so much of his wife's apart from the color. Where she had beautiful caramel colored hair, his daughters' were as dark as the night.

"Dada's here my little angel. I loved your mother so much it hurts darling." He whispered to her rocking her slightly as he took her to the kitchen where Hermione's milk was stored.

He took a bottle out of the freezer and charmed the milk inside it to the suitable temperature before settling in with Noxia inside the rocking chair back in the nursery. They stayed like that until Noxia had finished her bottle. That's when Minerva came back to him.

"Severus, if you want to see her, she's ready. Do you need anything else? I think we also have to announce the news to Potter and Weasley before we announce it to the rest of her friends and eventually the whole Wizarding World. But that can wait an hour or two…" She said placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Minerva. Could you just take Noxia for thirty minutes while I go and see her?" He asked, looking at his asleep daughter, cradled in his arms.

"Yes, of course, my boy." She said warmly, taking Noxia in her arms before taking Severus' place in the rocking chair and swaying the infant while she was asleep.

Severus thanked one last time the older witch before going to the bedroom they were sharing. He inhaled deeply before opening the door and taking in the view before his eyes. Flowers were arranged elegantly around the bed and on top of the furniture. She was laying in the center of the bed, wearing a beautiful white gown with hints of silver and gold. She had a wild flower crown on her head and her hairs had been groomed to the perfection. Her hands were joined together on top of her wand and her nails finely manicured. She looked as though she was merely asleep which made Severus even sadder, knowing he would never see her beautiful eyes open ever again.

He approached the bed and sat next to her. For all the time he spent by her side, he placed his hand on top of hers, rubbing her cold skin without even thinking about it.

"Why did you leave me my darling? We still had so much to do together. What about Noxia? I can't raise a child on my own, I don't know how to do that… It was supposed to be me… Not you… Why did you leave us, Hermione?" He cried, trying to get a response from her, although he knew perfectly well he wouldn't.

He heard a light knock on the door and dried his tears before saying to the person at the other end they could enter. It was Minerva again.

"Severus, it's already been two hours, I think it's time to announce it to Potter and Weasley. I have thought about it and since you're her husband, you should be the one to break the news to them. I can take care of the rest, but you have to break the news to them. I'm sorry." She said, staying on the door step, not wanting to intrude too much on the privacy of whom she had always considered as her son.

"Alright, I'll do it now." He said taking out his wand, intending to produce a Patronus to ask Potter and Weasley to come.

A few minutes later, he saw the fire in his chimney turn to a greenish color and the two boys got out of it, dusting off the ash that tainted there clothes before Minerva vanished it into thin air.

"Good afternoon Professor Snape," Harry greeted his old Potions Master "Oh, excuse me, Professor McGonagall, I hadn't seen that you were also here… And that's little Noxia…" He cooed seeing his goddaughter's in McGonagall's arms.

Ronald, on the opposite, didn't say anything. He stayed next to the chimney as if ready to make a quick exit should the situation require it. He only nodded at his two old Professor before finding the carpet of extreme interest and staring at it for the moment.

"Professor, you told us you wanted to speak to us of an urgent matter, but I must admit that your message was quite cryptic and I don't think I have understood exactly the aim of your call," Harry said respectfully to his teacher, knowing how quick he was to anger. "Anyways, where's Hermione?"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, I think it would be best for you to sit down for what I have to tell you," he said, gesturing towards the couch.

The two boys looked at him strangely for a second or two before sitting down onto the sofa.

"Harry, Ron… you remember that a few months back Noxia was kidnapped before being found back by Mr. Malfoy. We then discovered that Noxia was suffering from magic loss. At the time we thought it wasn't more serious than that… Then a little over two months ago we discovered that Hermione too was suffering from magic loss and at the time, we were told she only had a few more months to live, a year upmost. So, we searched the reasons of her symptoms, and found that she had been cursed during the war. Cursed with a spell binding her soul and magic to Voldemort. She didn't feel any symptom during her pregnancy because the spell affected Noxia's magic resources, not hers. When Voldemort died a small part of his soul embedded itself inside Hermione's mind. We tried to keep it enclosed inside a small part of her mind, and managed to do so. Unfortunately, tonight when we wanted to rid her definitely of him… she protected me against him when he tried to kill me. I am sorry, but Hermione didn't make it…" He said, trying not to break down.

"What… no. It's not possible. How could you let her do this? She didn't deserve to die. You were supposed to die… You, greasy git." Ron scram, hitting the Potions Master square in the nose.

"Mister Weasley. I would expect a modicum of respect towards Professor Snape. He is as much hurt by Mrs. Snape passing as you are, if not more as he is her husband and has now a child to take care of on his own." Professor McGonagall roared at the red-haired boy.

Harry, unlike Ron, sat perfectly still in the couch. He had too many things going on in his head. Voldemort really wanted to take everything away from him. A part of him was furious against Severus for letting her sacrifice herself for him, another was completely devastated for the older wizard who had endured so many losses in his life.

"If you would like to see her, she's in our bedroom…" the Potions Master said to the both of them, his voice barely above a murmur. "If you would excuse me." He concluded before disappearing to the nursery.

The two boys followed Minerva to the bedroom. Ron ran up to her but when he tried to take her in his arms he was thrown back to the floor. Harry approached more carefully his best friend seemingly asleep form and only caressed her hand, trying to get a reaction out of her. It seemed as though he didn't realize that his best friend had truly gone.

Twenty minutes later the two boys left the small bedroom, drying the tears they had shed. Now was going to be the time to speak about the funeral and the announcement of her death to the rest of the wizarding world. They joined Severus who was sitting in the living room, still holding Noxia and rocking her back and forth absent-mindedly. Harry approached him and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Sir, I am sorry to do this now, but how would you prefer to announce the news to the rest of the wizarding world?" Harry asked, clearly embarrassed by the current situation.

"I want the announcement sober, she loved simple things… Maybe we could put an article up in the necrology section of the Daily Prophet, and make a small announcement here at Hogwarts, I don't really know, we never really spoke about it… It just seemed as though we had so much time," He said before shedding a tear that rolled onto his cheek before landing into Noxia's curly hairs.

"I think she would like that yes. Would you like for me to write the announcement for the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked, not really knowing where to put himself at the sight of his ex-Potions Professor's sorrow.

"Yes please, I'd rather you do that. Minerva, I am sorry to ask you but could you make the announcement to the rest of the school… I must also begin to prepare the funeral. I'd rather have a private ceremony but she is a third of the Golden Trio, the ministry won't let me do this privately. The minister might even want to add his pinch of salt too…" He said, obviously desperate.

"Don't worry Severus, for now the most important thing is for you to be there for your daughter. Then we'll organize the more unpleasant stuff. I am ever so sorry to say that now, but we have to call the undertakers, to… you know… remove her body." Minerva added, placing a comforting hand on the widower's shoulder.

"No, not now. I haven't said goodbye to her properly…" He said, looking up to Minerva, his eyes swelling up with tears.

"She can't stay here forever Severus. We must call them, but don't worry; you'll be able to see her. I'll make sure of that." She concluded, patting the Potions Master's shoulder. "Messer Potter and Weasley, I think it would be best if you left for now. Go get some rest, it's late, we'll see you tomorrow." She added to the attention of Hermione's best friends.

"If you need us Professor, for anything at all, don't hesitate to call for us." Harry said to Severus before leaving with Ron.

Minerva sat next to Severus in the sofa and extended her arms. That's when Severus lost the last bit of control, he had over the pain he was feeling.

"I can't do this Minerva, why is it that life takes everything away from me. Every single good thing that happens to me ends up being taken away from me. Why? Just why?" He sobbed, curling into the older witch's arms.

"Life is unfair Severus. You experienced it more than anyone else. Life has been particularly unjust to you. But it has given you something too. You have a daughter that is very dear to you. I know what you are experiencing, believe me, I do… but you have at least something to hang onto: your daughter. She will need a father, to tell her how wonderful her mother was and how proud she would be if she was there." She said to him, soothing him a little like a mother would soothe her child.

Minerva then called for the undertaker. It was decided that Hermione's body would be brought to the infirmary ward inside a private room so that Severus and her closest friends could come and visit whenever they needed it.

When the six undertakers came inside the bedroom and lifted Hermione's light form inside the white coffin, they had brought with them, Severus looked away. Once the coffin was brought out of the bedroom one of the undertakers magically cleaned the room and left with a small bow towards Severus.

 _The next day_

Every single living and dead soul that inhabited the castle were called to the Great Hall first thing in the morning. As they all waited for the headmistress to come to the stand and make her announcement, they all stared at each other. They had all spotted that neither the Potions Master nor his wife were present.

When the two large doors at the entry of the Great Hall creaked opened, everyone went silence. Minerva McGonagall came through the doors, followed shortly after by Severus Snape, who was holding Noxia in his arms. They all eyed them, as they walked up to the platform where the teacher's table usually stood.

"Good morning everyone, may I have your attention, please. Last night Hermione Snape née Granger who was currently professor Flitwick's apprentice died. Later in the morning, the faculty will meet to develop a plan to help us cope with this sad event. There will be special assistance available for any student who feels they need this service. Today, all class will be suspended to help Professor Snape cope with this unsurmountable loss. I would like all of us to reflect for a minute in memory of Hermione, if you would all please raise your wand…" The headmistress said, taking her wand out of her pocket and pointing it towards the sky.

Slowly, all the others wand lit up. Severus did so too, raising his black Silver Lime wand towards the sky. They all stayed like that for a long moment, not one Gryffindor student had a dry eye and at least half of the rest of the student body also had tear-stricken faces. Finally, they all lowered their wands and the headmistress continued her little speech.

"I will come back to you once a day for a memorial has been set. For the moment, I would ask of all of you to put your house's flags at half-mast. As for the Gryffindor's, you are asked to put your mourning attires on until the day of the funeral. That will be all, you may go back to your common rooms. As for prefects and staff, if you would please stay behind…" The headmistress concluded.

The student left the hall, a few Slytherins and Gryffindors came up to the platform to present the Potions Master with their deepest sympathy. He mostly answered with a small nod of the head and a whispered thank you.

"Severus, if you'd rather go and see your wife, you don't have to stay here at all. I can even take Noxia if you'd prefer." Minerva said to Severus, rubbing his back discretely.

"Thank you, Minerva." He said before exiting the Great Hall and going to the infirmary ward where his wife's body was.

He entered the small bedroom, Noxia had fallen asleep so he conjured up a little cot for her wandlessly and placed her inside slowly.

Hermione was laying on top of the bed, a fine linen sheet covering her up to the waist. She looked like an angel in this white, gold and silver dress. She was looking so peaceful. He approached a chair towards her bed and sat there, taking her hand in his own, stroking it lightly.

"She really loved you, you know that Severus?" Ron Weasley's voice said from a corner of the room. "She wrote a letter to me three days ago, she told me to give it to you once she would be dead… Here," he said, handing a folded piece of parchment.

Severus thanked him and Ron left, without another word. He opened the letter, it was still sealed and he made a mental note to himself to thank the boy more later. He broke the seal and began to read the letter.

 _Hogwarts, 22_ _nd_ _February 1999_

 _Severus, my darling, my love, my life,_

 _If you are reading this, it means I'm dead. Today I have felt something break in me. I know I should have told you, but a part of me wants this to end, I don't think I can go on for any longer. It seems as though there is no hope left. I hope that by dying Voldemort, too, died._

 _Anyways, I want the both of you to have this letter to have something to remember me by._

 _To my dear Noxia, be proud of who you are, make what makes you happy. Know that I will always be there for you, even if I can't physically be here. I am sure that you will be a very powerful witch. Be who you want to be. Accept people as they are, never judge a book by its cover and always be there for your friends. I just ask one thing of you. To take care of your father for me, he might be a snarky git on the outside, but on the inside, he's really sweet and has so much love to give to others,_

 _To my lovely Severus, go on with your life, for Noxia's sake. Live, laugh, be snarky to your dunderheads. Do not close yourself up my love. You deserve so much better after having lived a life under two masters, know that I will always be there behind you when you will need me. Take care of Noxia for me, be patient with her, go to Minerva if you have questions, but please, make her happy and tell her how much her mother loved her until her last dying breath._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Hermione Jean Snape, née Granger_


End file.
